Global military expenditures are growing at an alarming rate!

SHERAZUR RAHMAN##
At present, due to the Ukraine-Russia war crisis, most countries in the world are going to be increasing their military and defense expenditures at an alarming rate. According to the data provided by several military research institutes and think tanks, due to the global war crisis and conflict situation, most countries around the world are going to spend approximately $2.56 trillion or more to strengthen the military and defense sectors in 2024. Due to the Ukraine war, countries around the world spent about $2.443 trillion on the military and defense sectors in 2023.
The USA, the world’s number one military superpower, has set a new record by allocating approximately 36.27% of the total global military expenditure budget. The US administration has already allocated about $916 billion for the current fiscal year 2024–25. However, for the previous fiscal year 2023, a military budget of $886 billion was allocated. In April 2024, the US Senate approved an additional $95 billion to support Ukaraine, Tiawan, and Isreal.
Besides, China has emerged as the world’s second-largest military and defense spender without any confusion. Last March, China’s Xi Jinping government announced a massive military budget of $236.6 billion in 2024, which is more than 7.2% from the last fiscal year of 2023. China was allocated $224.78 billion for 2023, which is actually 7.2% more than the previous year, 2022. China’s total military budget in 2022 was fixed at $229.6 billion, and in 2021 it was $209 billion.
Following the path of America and China, Russia has approximately doubled its annual military budget to continue its ongoing military aggression in Ukraine and to counter the Western world’s NATO alliance. According to various military studies and information provided by Reuters and Anadulu News, Russia’s military and war-related spending is projected to rise 29% year-on-year to $140 billion in 2024. When Russia spent almost $109.45 billion in 2023 to continue the Ukraine war, it spent about $84 billion or $102.37 billion in 2022, but in reality, Russia’s military and defense expenditures may be much higher than we realized.
Meanwhile, a huge military and defense budget was presented in the proposed national budget for India’s new fiscal year 2024–25 on Thursday, January 1, 2024. In the current budget, a total of $74.89 billion has been allocated for the highest level of modernization of the military sector. India will spend 13.04% of its total budget on the military and defense sectors. In the upcoming new fiscal year 2024–25 budget, defense expenditures have increased by 4.55%. Moreover, India has allocated about $20.62 billion for the procurement of new weapons and military equipment to maximize the modernization of defense sectors.
Among the other influential countries in the world, in the 2023–24 financial year, the UK spent $68.6 billion on defense. This is expected to rise to $72.28 billion in 2024/25, which is a 4.5% increase in real terms. In the same way, Japan is worth $56 billion, South Korea $43.8 billion, Germany $73.41 billion, France $50.2 billion, Singapore $15 billion, and Italy $29 billion for increasing military expenditure in 2024. Besides, Turkey allocated $40 billion in military spending and Iran about $24.6 billion in military expenditure during the same period.
Actually, in 2023, the countries of the Middle East together set a new record by spending over $200 billion on the military and defense sectors. Furthermore, the wealthiest Arab countries in the Middle East have emerged as major players in global military spending. Saudi Arabia has allocated a military budget of approximately $74.65 billion for the current year, 2024. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates has allocated $25 billion, Qatar $14.4 billion, Israel $25 billion, Kuwait $9.5 billion, and Bahrain $1.5 billion to enhance their military capabilities and acquire advanced weapons and defense systems from the Western world.
Despite the severe economic crisis, Pakistan allocates Rs 2,122 billion, or $7.65 billion, for defense in the 2024–25 fiscal year, which is 1.7% of GDP, consistent with the previous year. Moreover, among the other countries in South Asia, Bangladesh has allocated $3.6 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year to strengthen the national defense sectors. On the other hand, Sri Lanka allocates $1.45 billion, Nepal $418.9 million, Bhutan nearly $30 million, and Myanmar most likely $4 billion or above in 2024 to strengthen their military and defense sectors at an alarming rate. However, the accuracy of this data or information may vary depending on different sources and issues.
Sources: Roiters, Anadulu, Wikipedia, the Daily Mail, BBC, TASS, global security, CNN, Al-Jajira, and Xinhua.