Stockholm (AFP) - Global military spending rose again in 2021 and set new records as Russia continued to build up its military before its invasion of Ukraine, researchers said Monday, and they expect this trend to continue in Europe in particular.
Despite the economic repercussions of the Covid pandemic, countries around the world have increased their arsenals, with global military spending rising by 0.7 percent last year, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
"In 2021, military spending rose for the seventh time in a row, reaching $2.1 trillion. This is the highest number ever," Diego Lopez da Silva, senior researcher at the institute, told AFP.
Russia's spending grew by 2.9 percent for the third consecutive year of growth, to $65.9 billion. Lopez da Silva said defense spending represented 4.1 percent of Russia's gross domestic product, "well above the global average" and making Moscow the world's fifth-biggest arms spender.
Higher oil and gas revenues have helped the country boost military spending. Lopez da Silva noted that Russia witnessed a sharp increase in spending towards the end of the year, as "it happened when Russia massed its forces along the Ukrainian border before invading Ukraine in February of course."
- Tougher penalties -
Lopez da Silva said it was difficult to predict whether Russia would be able to continue spending in the same way due to the wave of sanctions imposed by the West in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, the country was also targeted with sanctions at a time when energy prices fell, making it difficult to measure the effectiveness of the sanctions on their own.
"Now ... we have tougher sanctions, that's for sure, but we have higher energy prices that can help Russia keep military spending at that level," Lopez da Silva said.
On the other hand, Ukraine's military spending has increased by 72% since the annexation of Crimea. And while spending fell by more than eight percent in 2021 to $5.9 billion, it still represented 3.2 percent of Ukraine's GDP.
As tensions mount in Europe, more NATO countries are stepping up spending. Lopez da Silva said he expects spending in Europe to continue to grow.
Last year, the Swedish Institute said, eight member states reached their spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product, one less than the previous year, but a significant increase from only two in 2014.
As for the United States, which topped everyone by spending $801 billion, it actually went against the global trend and cut its spending by 1.4 percent in 2021.
- 'Technological edge' -
Over the past decade, US spending on research and development has increased by 24 percent while arms purchases have fallen by 6.4 percent. While both fell in 2021, the decline in search was not as high, highlighting the country's focus on "next-generation technologies."
"The US government has repeatedly stressed the need to maintain the US military's technological superiority over strategic competitors," Alexandra Marksteiner, also a researcher at Sipri, said in a statement.
For its part, China, the second in the level of military spending in the world with an estimated $293 billion, boosted its expenditures by 4.7 percent, recording an increase in spending for the twenty-seventh year in a row.
The country's military buildup, in turn, led its regional neighbors to increase their military budgets, with Japan adding $7 billion, up 7.3 percent - its highest annual increase since 1972.
Australia also spent four percent more on its military, reaching $31.8 billion in 2021.
India, the third largest spender in the world with $76.6 billion, increased financing for its arsenal in 2021, but by a more modest 0.9 percent.
The United Kingdom ranked fourth, with military spending increasing by 3% to $68.4 billion, replacing Saudi Arabia which cut spending by 17% to an estimated $55.6 billion.