India becomes third largest spender on military

India became world 3rd largest spending nation on military, rising 6.8% from the previous year as shown by latest data by SIPRI.

“India’s rising tensions with both Pakistan and China are among the major drivers for its increase in military spending," said Siemon T. Wezeman, senior researcher(SIPRI).

India’s annual military expenditure mainly includes huge pension bills which amount to around $18 billion out of total $62 billion.

With global military expenditure risen by 3.6% from the previous year, with U.S. as always on top followed by China and India being on the second and third places respectively. It’s the first time that two Asian countries have come in top 3.

The five biggest expenders on military were:

• US ($732 billion)
• China ($261 billion)
• India ($71.1 billion)
• Russia ($65.1 billion)
• Saudi Arabia ($61.9 billion)

Globally, it is the US that is driving the growth in military sales, with a 5.3% rise in spending to $732 billion, accounting for 38% of the global spend.

China’s military expenditure reached $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 % rise from 2018.

“The recent growth in US military spending is largely based on a perceived return of competition between the great powers,’ says Pieter D. Wezeman, senior researcher at SIPRI.

Notable regional developments

South America: Military expenditure in South America was relatively unchanged in 2019, at $52.8 billion. Brazil accounted for 51 per cent of total military expenditure in the sub-region.

Africa:The combined military expenditure of states in Africa grew by 1.5 per cent to an estimated $41.2 billion in 2019—the region’s first increase in spending for five years.

South East Asia:Military spending in South East Asia increased by 4.2 per cent in 2019 to reach $40.5 billion.