India’s military spending at $76.6 bn 3rd highest in the world: SIPRI report

India spent $76.6 billion in military spending in 2021, which was the third-highest in the world, following the US’ $801 billion and China’s $293 billion, according to a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 

India’s military spending was up by 0.9 per cent from 2020 and 33 per cent from 2012, the report added. SIPRI stated that 64 per cent of capital outlays in the military budget of 2021 was earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms in a push to strengthen the indigenous arms industry. 

World expenditure

The institute flagged that the global military expenditure increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021 to reach $2,113 trillion. The US, China, India, UK and Russia were the top spenders last year, accounting for 62 per cent of the global expenditure. Military spending increased for the seventh consecutive year. 

Dr Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme said, “Even amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, world military spending hit record levels. There was a slowdown in the rate of real-terms growth due to inflation. In nominal terms, however, military spending grew by 6.1 per cent.”

Global military expenditure as a share of world gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1 percentage points from 2.3 per cent in 2020 to 2.2 per cent in 2021. 

What countries spent

The US: US’ spend of $801 billion was a drop of 1.4 per cent from 2020. Its expenditure decreased from 3.7 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent of GDP last year. Funding for military research and development (R&D) rose by 24 per cent between 2012 and 2021. Funding for arms procurement fell by 6.4 per cent. 

China: China’s $293 billion expenditure was an increase of 4.7 per cent compared with 2020, amounting to an increase for 27 consecutive years. 

The UK: The country spent $68.4 billion in 2021, up 3 per cent from 2020. 

Russia: In the build-up to the war, Russia increased its military expenditure by 2.9 per cent in 2021, to $65.9 billion, marking the third consecutive year of growth. Its military spending was 4.1 per cent of the GDP. Russia’s ‘national defence’ budget line that accounts for three-quarters of the country’s total military spending was 14 per cent higher at $48.4 billion than what was budgeted at the end of 2020. 

Germany: The country spent $56.0 billion on its military in 2021, or 1.3 per cent of its GDP. Its military spending was 1.4 per cent lower compared than 2020’s due to inflation.

Japan: Japan’s spend increased to $54.1 billion in 2021 after the government added $7 billion to military spending. This led to an increase in spending of 7.3 per cent, the highest since 1972. 

Australia: The country increased its military spending by 4 per cent to reach $31.8 billion. 

Iran: Iran’s military budget increased for the first time in four years to $24.6 billion. Funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps grew 14 per cent as compared to 2020 and amounted to 34 per cent of the country’s total military expenditure. 

Qatar: The country was the fifth largest spender in the Middle East with military spend of $11.6 billion, an increase of 434 per cent from 2010, which is when it last released its military spending data.

Ukraine: The country’s military spending rose 72 per cent as it sharpened its defences against Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. While it fell in 2021, Ukraine’s spend of $5.9 billion accounted for 3.2 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Nigeria: On the back of numerous security challenges, Nigeria increased its military spending by 56 per cent in 2021 to reach $4.5 billion. 

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