In 2023, the world witnessed an unprecedented surge in military expenditure, with spending reaching a record high of $2443 billion. This was a significant increase of 6.8% from the previous year and marked the highest year-on-year rise since 2009. The sharp rise in military spending pushed global military expenditure to its highest level ever recorded by SIPRI.
The global military burden, defined as military spending as a percentage of global GDP, rose to 2.3% in 2023. Additionally, average military expenditure as a share of government expenditure increased by 0.4 percentage points to 6.9% in 2023, with world military spending per person reaching its highest level since 1990 at $306.
The recent SIPRI Fact Sheet examined trends in military expenditure for the year 2023 and the decade spanning from 2014 to 2023. The data used in the report supersedes all previously published military spending data by SIPRI and is sourced from the updated SIPRI Military Expenditure Database.
The sharp increase in global military spending in 2023 was largely driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and rising tensions in Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East. Military expenditure saw notable increases across all five geographical regions, with significant rises observed in Europe, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East.
