A report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday showed that global military spending continued to rise in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly $2 trillion. According to the report, total military spending worldwide last year amounted to $1.981 trillion (approximately €1.650 trillion), an increase of 2.6% year-on-year, at a time when global GDP declined by 4.4% due to the pandemic and its repercussions. Military spending had already reached its highest level since the end of the Cold War in 2019.
Diego Lopez da Silva, who participated in preparing the report, stated that while some expected military spending to decrease due to the pandemic, "we are now quite certain that COVID-19 had little impact on military expenditure, at least in 2020." In response to a question from Agence France-Presse, the researcher cautioned that it's still early to generalize this conclusion in the long term, as it may take time for "countries to adjust to the shock."
The fact that military spending continued to rise during a year marked by economic slowdown means that the "military burden" (the share of military spending in GDP) also increased. This share rose by 0.2 percentage points globally over the year, reaching 2.4%, the largest annual increase since the financial crisis in 2009. According to the report, the number of NATO member countries that spent at least 2% of their GDP on their military (meeting the alliance's target) increased from 9 countries in 2019 to 12 countries in 2020.
However, while military spending increased globally in 2020, some countries, such as Chile and South Korea, opted to cut funds designated for military expenditure and allocate them to improve their response to the health crisis. Conversely, other countries, such as Hungary, took an opposite path, choosing to increase their military spending "as part of an economic recovery plan in response to the pandemic," according to Lopez da Silva.
- **The United States at the Forefront**
The report indicated that the United States remains at the top of the list of the largest military spenders globally, with its military expenditure increasing by 4.4% in 2020 to reach $778 billion, accounting for 39% of total global military spending. This marks the third consecutive year of increased U.S. military spending after seven years of decline. Alexandra Marksteiner, who co-authored the report, noted that this increase "reflects growing concerns about what are perceived as threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia, along with the Trump administration's desire to strengthen what it considers a beleaguered U.S. military."
In this context, Diego Lopez da Silva pointed out that the Biden administration "has not indicated that it will reduce military spending." China ranked second, with its military spending reaching 13% of total global military expenditures in 2020, continuing an uninterrupted increase over the past 26 years alongside the growth of its economy. France, ranking eighth, saw its military spending increase by 2.9% in 2020, amounting to $52.7 billion.
