Global military spending soared to $2.7 trillion in 2024, marking the steepest annual rise in over three decades, according to the United Nations. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that countries are spending far more on waging wars than building peace, diverting resources away from development and security.
His new report, The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, highlights the urgent need to recalibrate global priorities.
Military Spending Surges Across All Regions
For the first time, all five global regions reported significant increases in military budgets during 2024. More than 100 countries boosted their defense spending, reflecting growing mistrust and escalating conflicts worldwide.
Military spending now consumes 2.5 percent of global GDP, up from 2.2 percent in 2022, and 7.1 percent of government budgets, compared with 6.6 percent previously. This widespread increase comes at a time when development financing and humanitarian assistance are declining.
The Cost of War Versus the Cost of Poverty
The report highlights a striking contrast between global priorities. Eliminating extreme poverty would require less than 300 billion dollars annually, a fraction of today’s 2.7 trillion military bill.
Ending hunger by 2030 would cost 93 billion dollars, or less than 4 percent of global defense spending. Vaccinating every child worldwide would require just 285 billion dollars, a little over 10 percent of annual military expenditure. In contrast, current levels of defense investment deepen inequalities while leaving global development goals underfunded.
Military Spending Versus Sustainable Development Goals
The UN warns that record defense budgets are pulling resources away from the Sustainable Development Goals. The financing gap for achieving the SDGs stands at 4 trillion dollars annually and may expand to 6.4 trillion in coming years.
While governments allocate increasing resources to security, development financing lags behind, slowing progress in education, healthcare, poverty reduction, and climate adaptation. As Guterres stressed, excessive military spending does not guarantee peace. It often undermines it.
Impact on Public Health and Debt
Military spending carries hidden costs for societies. In low- and middle-income countries, a 1 percent increase in defense budgets often reduces public health investment almost equally. This shift threatens pandemic preparedness, vaccination programs, and other essential healthcare services.
Rising defense expenditure also fuels public debt, burdening future generations and limiting development opportunities. As debt grows, governments face tighter fiscal constraints, further weakening investment in human-centered security like education, healthcare, and environmental protection.
The Call for a Human-Centered Vision of Security
The UN’s disarmament chief, Izumi Nakamitsu, emphasized the need for a new vision of security, one centered on people rather than borders. Human-centered security prioritizes institutions, equity, sustainability, and diplomacy over weapons stockpiles.
Rebalancing global priorities is not optional—it is an imperative for humanity’s survival, Nakamitsu said. The report urges nations to shift resources into long-term solutions, reducing dependence on militarization while strengthening international cooperation.
Jobs: Civil Sectors Deliver Greater Returns Than Military
Military budgets create employment, but civilian sectors generally generate more jobs with the same investment. According to the report:
- One billion dollars in military spending creates about 11,200 jobs.
- The same investment in education creates 26,700 jobs.
- In clean energy, it creates 16,800 jobs.
- In healthcare, it generates 17,200 jobs.
These figures demonstrate that redirecting resources could strengthen economies while supporting sustainable development, environmental protection, and social stability.
Military Spending and Climate Burden
Defense spending also carries a heavy climate cost. Each dollar spent on the military generates over twice the greenhouse gas emissions compared to investments in civilian sectors.
Redirecting just 15 percent of global military spending, around 387 billion dollars, could fully cover annual climate adaptation costs in developing nations. Reducing military budgets would not only ease emissions intensity but also free resources for clean energy, environmental protection, and climate resilience programs.
Inequality and Global Insecurity
Despite record defense budgets, global insecurity is rising. Wars, terrorism, cyber threats, and disinformation campaigns continue to destabilize communities worldwide.
The UN report highlights a growing paradox: nations are spending more on security yet achieving less peace. In fact, excessive militarization deepens mistrust, fuels arms races, and undermines the very foundations of stability. Addressing inequality and improving human development remain far more effective tools for building long-term security.
Development as a Driver of Peace
UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu stressed that real peace begins with investment in people. When people’s lives improve—when they have education, healthcare, and economic opportunities—societies become more peaceful, he said.
Development reduces insecurity by addressing root causes such as poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity. Multilateral cooperation remains essential to building resilience against interconnected risks, from pandemics to climate shocks.
Rebalancing Priorities: A Clarion Call
The UN calls for a fundamental recalibration of global spending priorities, shifting resources away from weapons and toward human-centered development. Even small reallocations could dramatically improve lives. For instance, investing five trillion dollars—less than two years of military budgets—could provide 12 years of quality education for every child in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Such investments build long-term stability and reduce the drivers of conflict.
Choosing Peace Over War
Global military spending reached unprecedented levels in 2024, but rising defense budgets have not delivered security or stability. Instead, they divert resources from urgent priorities like hunger, healthcare, education, and climate action.
The UN’s report calls on governments to choose a new path—investing in people, development, and sustainability rather than deepening arms races. As António Guterres warned, a more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars.