Military spending

Global Military Spending Grows For First Time Since 2011

Global military expenditures topped $1.6 trillion in 2015, an increase of about 1 percent from the previous year, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

That represents the first increase in global military spending since 2011, with growth coming from Asia and Oceania, Central and Eastern Europe, and a few key Gulf powers, as well a slower defense drawdown in the US than in previous years.

SIPRI’s military expenditure report is released annually to track overall defense spending on a global scale. (To coincide with the release of the report, SIPRI ishosting an event on Tuesday at the Washington, DC-based Stimson Center, where the author of this piece will be a panelist.)

The group defines “military expenditures” as current and capital spending from each nation’s armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies that deal with defense projects; paramilitary forces, when judged to be trained and equipped for military operations, and military space activities.