Military spending in Europe and the world has been growing at record levels since the Cold War

Military spending in 2022 rose to record levels both in Europe and around the world.

Source. This is stated in the latest report of the Stockholm Institute of Peace Research (SIPRI), published on April 24, RFI reports.

Analysts note that this figure increased by 13% in Europe over the year, and by 3% in all countries together. This is a growth rate that researchers have not seen on the European continent since the Cold War.

Defense spending, as expected, increased the most in Ukraine – Kyiv spent about $44 billion on this budget item in 2022. This is 640% more than last year.

Military aid to Ukraine in 2022 reached almost $20 billion, which is half of the European country's defense budget. Although this was the largest amount of military aid provided by any country to a single beneficiary since the end of the Cold War, it accounted for only 2.3% of total US military spending.

In parallel, the US government allocated $295 billion for military operations and maintenance, $264 billion for procurement and research and development, and $167 billion for military personnel.

NATO members' military spending in 2022 amounted to $1.232 billion, which is 0.9% higher than in 2021.

russia, according to official data, increased its military spending by about 9% to 4% of the country's total GDP. Along with the United States, India, China, and Saudi Arabia, the country is among the leaders of the list – together, these five countries spent 63% of the global total on defense.

According to the researchers, the official figures for military spending in russia differed from the planned figures by about a third.

"The difference between russia's budget plans and its actual military spending in 2022 shows that the invasion of Ukraine cost russia much more than it expected," said Lucie Bero-Sudro, director of the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

Military budgets increased in all countries except Africa, SIPRI said. The countries of the continent spent more than $39 billion for this purpose, which is 5% less than in 2021.

Defense spending on the continent fell for the first time in four years. Morocco and Algeria remain the leaders.

Another region that SIPRI drew attention to is Asia. There, military spending has continued to grow since at least 1989. China is the leader. The DPRK spent about $292 billion a year for this purpose.

Background. As reported, the Pentagon will allocate more than $215 million to Ukraine for the modernization of Javelin and Stinger.