SIPRI: India one among top three military spender

On April 27, 2020, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its report on military spending of different countries in the world. According to the report, US, China and India are the three top most military spenders in 2019.

Highlights

Following the three top military spenders in the world, Russia and Saudi Arabia were on the fourth and fifth places respectively. The top three military spenders accounted to 62% of the world military expenditure. However, it is the first time in the history of the report that 2 Asian countries have occupied the top positions.

Global military expenditure

The total military expenditure increased by 3.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018. In 2019, the global expenditure spent was 2 trillion USD. This is the highest expenditure spent since 2008 global financial crisis.

Highlights: India

According to the report, the military expenditure of India increased due to its increasing tensions with Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. In 2019, India has spent 71.1 billion USD over its military. This has increased by 6.8% as compared to 2018.

Highlights: USA

According to the report, the US is driving the military spending in the world largely. In 2019, the US had spent 732 billion USD for military. This is 5.3% higher than that of 2018.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2020