India is the third largest military spender after the United States and China even as global military spending rose to 1981 billion dollars last year, an increase of 2.6 per cent from 2019, according to new data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
The Military spending by the United States, China, India, Russia Kingdom accounted for 62 per cent of global military expenditure
USA
The US remained the world’s largest spender in 2020 with a defence budget of an estimated 778 billion dollars. This accounted for 39 per cent of global military spending. The US military expenditure in 2020 was 4.4 per cent higher than in 2019. It was 3.7 percent of GDP in 2020, up by 0.3 percentage points on the previous year.
CHINA
China accounted for 13 per cent of the global total. The 252 billion dollar budget estimate on defence in 2020 was 1.9 per cent higher than in 2019. It amounted to 1.7 per cent of the GDP. China’s expenditure has increased for 26 consecutive years, the SIPRI report said. This growth is the result of China’s long-term military modernization and expansion process.
INDIA
At 72.9 billion dollars, India’s spending in 2020 was 2.1 per cent higher than in 2019 and 34 per cent higher than in 2011. The report attributes this increase to India’s ongoing conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir and renewed border tensions with China.
Russia’s expenditure stood at 61.7 billion dollars in 2020. It was 2.5 per cent higher than in 2019 and 26 per cent higher than in 2011, the report said. With a total of 59.2 billion dollars, the UK became the fifth largest spender in 2020. The UK’s spending was 2.9 per cent higher than in 2019, but 4.2 per cent lower than in 2011.
REGIONAL TRENDS
World military expenditure is heavily concentrated in two of the world’s five regions. While Americas constitute 43 per cent, Asia and Oceania comprise 27 per cent of the total expenditure. Europe accounts for 19 per cent expenditure.
Source; SIPRI
