World military expenses increased by 0.7% in real terms in 2021 and reached $2,13 billion. According to new data on global military expenses, published by Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research (SIPRI), in 2021 the US, China, India, UK and Russia spent 62% of such expenses in 2021 on military needs. . This is the seventh consecutive year when the military is growing.

According to SIPRI, the United States is mainly focused on military research and development. The US military expenses in 2021 amounted to $801 billion, which is 1.4% less than in 2020. The US military burden decreased slightly from 3.7% of GDP in 2020 to 3.5% in 2021.

Financing of US military research and development (R&MP; D) increased by 24% between 2012 and 2021, while the financing of the purchase of weapons fell by 6.4% over the same period. In 2021, the costs of both decreased. However, the cost of R&MP; D was less (–1.2%) than the cost of weapons (–5.4%).

“The increase in R&D spending over the decade 2012–21 suggests that the United States is focusing more on next-generation technologies,’ said Alexandra Marksteiner, Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘The US Government has repeatedly stressed the need to preserve the US military’s technological edge over strategic competitors.”

Russia increased its military expenses by 2.9% in 2021 to $ 65.9 billion at a time when it increased its forces along the Ukrainian border. It was the third year in a row, when Russia’s military expenses increased, they reached 4.1% of GDP in 2021.

” High oil and gas revenues have helped Russia increase its military spending in 2021. Expenditures fell between 2016 and 2019 as a result of low energy prices combined with sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014,” said Lucy Bero-Sudro, director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Weapons Program.

As Ukraine strengthened its defense against Russia, the country’s military expenditures increased by 72% after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. In 2021, expenditures amounted to $ 5.9 billion, which was 3.2% of Ukraine’s GDP.

China, the country with the second-largest cost of defense in the world, has allocated $293 billion for its army in 2021, which is 4.7% more than in 2020. China’s military expenses are increasing for 27 years in a row. The Chinese budget for 2021 was the first within the 14th five-year period, which is until 2025.

After the initial approval of the budget for 2021, the Japanese government added $7 billion to military expenditures. As a result, the costs increased by 7.3%to $ 54.1 billion in 2021, which has been the highest annual increase since 1972. In 2021, the Australian military expenses also increased: by 4% and reached $ 31.8 billion.

“China’s growing assertiveness in and around the South and the East China seas have become a major driver of military spending in countries such as Australia and Japan,” said SIPRI Senior Researcher Dr Nan Tian. “An example is the AUKUS trilateral security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States that foresees the supply of eight nuclear-powered submarines to Australia at an estimated cost of up to $128 billion.”

In 2021, Iran’s military budget increased for the first time in four years to $ 24.6 billion. The financing of the Corps of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution continued to increase in 2021 – by 14% compared to 2020 – and was 34% of the total military expenses of Iran.

Eight members of the European Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) have reached the goal of the Alliance to spend 2% of GDP or more on their armed forces in 2021.

In 2021, Nigeria increased military expenses by 56% to $ 4.5 billion. The growth was in response to numerous security problems, such as violent extremism and separatist uprisings.

In 2021, Germany, which is the third country in terms of military expenditures in Central and Western Europe, spent $ 56 billion on its army, or 1.3% of its GDP. Military expenditures were 1.4% lower than 2020 due to inflation.

In 2021, Qatar’s military expenditures amounted to $ 11.6 billion, making the country fifth in terms of defense in the Middle East. Qatar’s military expenses in 2021 were 434% higher than in 2010, when the country last published data on such expenses by 2021.

India’s military expenses of $ 76.6 billion took third place in the world. This is 0.9% more than in 2020, and 33% compared to 2012. In order to strengthen the local weapons industry, 64% of capital expenditures in the military budget of India in 2021 were assigned to the purchase of weapons of domestic production.