The widespread increase in spending in the Defense sector worldwide has resulted in a total expenditure of 1.9 billion dollars (1.7 billion euros), a new record for the third consecutive year, reports the Spanish newspaper today El País, based on the report by the Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research (SIPRI).
The notable increase in military spending among NATO countries, which account for 54% of the total, together with increases in spending in China. India and Russia led to a 3.6% rise, the highest since 2009, according to the SIPRI report.
The United States (USA) spent $ 732 billion on defense, 38% of global military costs worldwide. The increase is mainly due to personnel costs, due to the recruitment of 16,000 new US military personnel and the continuous modernization of the arsenal of conventional and nuclear military weapons in the USA.
In the United States, expenditure in the sector represents 3.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the highest worldwide.
Its strategic rival, China, also increased spending by 5.1% to $ 261 billion, which is 14% of the world”s total spending in the sector, just behind the US. The Asian giant has a defense expenditure of 1.9% of GDP.
According to El País, military spending by these two powers represents 52% of world expenditure on the Defense sector.
