Global Military Expenditure at 3-Decade High, the Biggest Spender US Sees First Increase Since 2010

By Staff, Agencies

The world has spent $1.8 trillion on its military in 2018. The US is leading the charge, while some of its NATO allies are also buffing their war budgets citing the Russian threat while Moscow decreased its military spending.

The past year has been immensely successful for the war industry, according to the data by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI]. According to its newest report, released on Monday, the global military spending went up 2.6 percent to reach its highest number since at least 1988, when researches began tracking the data.

The US military expenditures were $649 billion last year, which amounts to 36 percent of the world’s total. Washington outspent its closest pursuer, China, almost by three times having spent almost as much as eight next countries combined.

The surge in military spending has been fueled by the exacerbating rivalry between the US and China, as well as strained situation in Asia where India increased its spending by 3.1 percent and Pakistan [11 percent hike].

“The tensions between countries in Asia as well as between China and the USA are major drivers for the continuing growth of military spending in the region,” Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure [AMEX] program, said.

While Washington has been an undisputed leader of the chart for years, last year it upped its game even more, increasing its military spending for the first time since 2010. The surge in the US military spending is a direct reflection of the Trump administration policy, according to SIPRI.