Briefly: Global defence spending in 2022 increased for the eighth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2.24T, according to a Sweden-based think tank.
Here’s a snapshot of details that caught our eye:
- 🇯🇵 Japan’s defence spending hit 1.1% of GDP, its highest since 1960
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia’s spending rose (by 16%) for the first time since 2018
- 🇪🇺 Spending in Central & Western Europe hit a new post-Cold War high
- 🇫🇮 NATO’s newest member (Finland) jacked its spending up 36%, and
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine’s 640% increase was the largest anywhere since 1949
The study attributes Japan’s spending growth to concerns about China and North Korea. And Saudi Arabia’s increase stems from its intervention in Yemen.
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Intrigue’s take: As for Europe’s boost in defence spending? Expenditure there was already rising before Russia invaded Ukraine. But when a nuclear power and permanent member of the UN Security Council invades one of your neighbours, it’s no surprise when you decide to double down on that accelerator.
Also worth noting:
- China’s military spending grew for the 28th consecutive year, the longest uninterrupted run of any country. Its 4.2% rate of growth was China’s second slowest growth rate since 1995 (the slowest was in 2021).
- The US expanded its military spending by 0.7% last year. It spent more than the next ten countries combined.
