Photo: Sgt. Thiem Huynh/U.S. Army
After Donald Trump took office as President of the United States, he began to advocate for a reduction in defense spending. In particular, he announced his intention to negotiate a reduction in defense spending with Russia and China following the end of the war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, Trump wants to revive negotiations on reducing the number of nuclear weapons with Russia and China. So, how much do countries around the world spend on the military sector?
According to analyses by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending increased by 6.8 percent in 2023, reaching 2.44 trillion dollars. This amounts to 306 dollars per person.
For comparison, in 2000, global military spending was 798 billion dollars, or 130 dollars per capita. Over the past 23 years, the money allocated to the military sector has more than tripled.
Countries with the largest military budgets
The United States is the country that spends the most on the military sector. According to SIPRI, in 2023, the U.S. defense budget amounted to 880 billion dollars, which is more than the total expenditures of the next eight countries combined.
Additionally, countries such as China (309 billion dollars), Russia (126 billion dollars), India (83 billion dollars), and Saudi Arabia (74 billion dollars) also have significant defense budgets.
When military spending is compared to gross domestic product, the highest percentage is in Ukraine at 36.7 percent. Lebanon, which spent 8.9 percent of its GDP, ranks second, followed by Algeria (8.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (7.1 percent), and South Sudan (6.3 percent).
