Pakistan spent $11.3 billion for military purposes in 2021, says report

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) says Pakistan spent nearly $11.3 billion for military purposes in 2021, showing a nominal decrease of 0.7% from 2020.

Sipri, an independent international institute dedicated to research into arms control and disarmament, says Pakistan's military expenditure is equivalent to 3.8% of country's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Pakistan is on 23rd spot on the list of countries with highest military spending in the world.

India on third spot

Pakistan’s archrival India has the third highest military expenditure in the world. It spent $76.6 billion on defence, recording an increase of 0.9% from a year ago.

India’s military spending is around 2.7% of its total GDP and 3.6 percent of total global military expenditure.

Military spending reaches record levels

Global military spending rose again in 2021, setting new records as Russia continued to beef up its military prior to its invasion of Ukraine, researchers said Monday, predicting the trend would continue in Europe in particular.

Despite the economic fallout of the global Covid pandemic, countries around the world increased their arsenals, with global military spending rising by 0.7 percent last year, says the Sipri report.

“In 2021 military spending rose for the seventh consecutive time to reach $2.1 trillion. That is the highest figure we have ever had,” says Diego Lopes da Silva, senior researcher at Sipri.

Russia’s spending grew by 2.9 per cent — the third year of consecutive growth — to $65.9 billion.

Defence spending accounted for 4.1 per cent of Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP), “much higher than the world average”, and making Moscow the fifth largest spender in the world, Lopes da Silva said.

As tensions have increased in Europe, more NATO countries have stepped up spending. Eight member countries last year reached the targeted two per cent of GDP for spending, one fewer than the year before but up from only two in 2014, Sipri said.

The US, which far outspent any other nation with $801 billion, went against the global trend and decreased its spending by 1.4 per cent in 2021. 

China, the world’s second largest military spender at an estimated $293 billion, boosted its expenditure by 4.7 percent, marking the 27th straight year of increased spending.

The country’s military buildup has in turn caused its regional neighbours to beef up their military budgets, with Japan adding $7 billion, an increase of 7.3 percent — the highest annual increase since 1972.

Australia also spent four percent more on its military, reaching $31.8 billion in 2021.

India, the world’s third largest spender at $76.6 billion, also increased funding in 2021, but by a more modest 0.9 percent.

The UK took over the number four spot, with a three percent increase in military spending to $68.4 billion, replacing Saudi Arabia which instead decreased spending by 17 percent to an estimated $55.6 billion.