India now third highest military spender globally: Report

India is now the third highest military spender in the world, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on April 25. India’s military spending of $76.6 billion is behind only the United States ($801 billion) and China ($293 billion), and followed by the United Kingdom and Russia. These five countries together account for 62 per cent of the global military expenditure.

According to SIPRI, total global military expenditure increased by 0.7 per cent in 2021, to reach $2,113 billion. This was the first time that world military expenditure crossed the $2 trillion-mark and the seventh consecutive year that spending increased.  India’s military spending was up 0.9 per cent compared to 2020 and 33 per cent from 2012. “In a push to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the military budget of 2021 were earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms,” the SIPRI report stated.

Slight drop in US military spending

United States’ military expenditure in 2021 witnessed a marginal drop of 1.4 per cent compared to 2020. GDP share on military spending also came down from 3.7 per cent in 2020 to 3.5 per cent in 2021. “US funding for military research and development rose by 24 per cent between 2012 and 2021, while arms procurement funding fell by 6.4 per cent over the same period,” SIPRI said.

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China boosts spending

China’s military spending in 2021 was a 4.7 per cent rise over 2020. With this, the Dragon’s military expenditure has grown for 27 consecutive years.

Run-up to Ukraine war

At $65.9 billion and 4.1 per cent of its GDP, Russia increased its military spending by 2.9 per cent in 2021, at a time it was mobilising its troops along the Ukrainian border. This was the third consecutive year of growth on Russian military spending. On the other hand, Ukraine’s military spending has risen by a massive 72 per cent since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, as the country strengthened its defences against Russia. Spending fell to $5.9 billion in 2021, but still accounted for 3.2 per cent of its GDP, the SIPRI report said.