SIPRI: Armenia reduced its defense spending in 2020, while Azerbaijan  significantly increased it

ArmInfo. Armenia in 2020 reduced its defense spending, while Azerbaijan has significantly increased it. This is evidenced by data from the Stockholm  International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According to SIPRI, Armenia's defense spending in 2020 amounted to $  634 million or 4.8% of GDP, while in 2019 they amounted to $ 652  million or 4.9% of GDP, respectively.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, unfriendly to Armenia, on the contrary,  sharply increased its defense costs and if in 2019 $ 1,854 million or  3.9% of GDP was allocated to this area, then in 2020 this amount  already amounted to $ 2,238 million or 5.4% of GDP.

According to SIPRI total global military expenditure rose to $1981  billion last year, an increase of 2.6 per cent in real terms from  2019, The five biggest spenders in 2020, which together accounted for  62 per cent of global military expenditure, were the United States,  China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom. Military spending by  China grew for the 26th consecutive year.

The 2.6 per cent increase in world military spending came in a year  when global gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 4.4 per cent  (October 2020 projection by the International Monetary Fund), largely  due to the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result,  military spending as a share of GDP-the military burden-reached a  global average of 2.4 per cent in 2020, up from 2.2 per cent in 2019.  This was the biggest year-on-year rise in the military burden since  the global financial and economic crisis in 2009.  Even though  military spending rose globally, some countries explicitly  reallocated part of their planned military spending to pandemic  response, such as Chile and South Korea. Several others, including  Brazil and Russia, spent considerably less than their initial   military budgets for 2020.  Russia's military expenditure increased  by 2.5 per cent in 2020 to reach $61.7 billion. This was the second  consecutive year of growth. Nevertheless, Russia's actual military  spending in 2020 was 6.6 per cent lower than its initial military  budget, a larger shortfall than in previous years.

In 2020 US military expenditure reached an estimated $778 billion,  representing an increase of 4.4 per cent over 2019. As the world's  largest military spender, the USA accounted for 39 per cent of total  military expenditure in 2020. This was the third consecutive year of  growth in US military spending, following seven years of continuous  reductions.

'The recent increases in US military spending can be primarily  attributed to heavy investment in research and development, and  several long-term projects such as modernizing the US nuclear arsenal  and large-scale arms procurement,' said Alexandra Marksteiner, a  researcher with SIPRI's Arms and Military Expenditure Programme.  'This reflects growing concerns over perceived threats from strategic  competitors such as China and Russia, as well as the Trump  administration's drive to bolster what it saw as a depleted US  military.'

China's military expenditure, the second highest in the world, is  estimated to have totalled $252 billion in 2020. This represents an  increase of 1.9 per cent over 2019 and 76 per cent over the decade  2011-20. China's spending has risen for 26 consecutive years, the  longest series of uninterrupted increases by any country in the SIPRI  Military Expenditure Database.

With a total of $59.2 billion, the UK became the fifth largest  spender in 2020. The UK's military spending was 2.9 per cent higher  than in 2019, but 4.2 per cent lower than in 2011. Germany increased  its spending by 5.2 per cent to $52.8 billion, making it the seventh  largest spender in 2020. Germany's military expenditure was 28 per  cent higher than in 2011. Military spending across Europe rose by 4.0  per cent in 2020.

Nearly all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  saw their military burden rise in 2020. As a result, 12 NATO members  spent 2 per cent or more of their GDP on their militaries, the  Alliance's guideline spending target, compared with 9 members in  2019. France, for example, the 8th biggest spender globally, passed  the 2 per cent threshold for the first time since 2009.

In addition to China, India ($72.9 billion), Japan ($49.1 billion),  South Korea ($45.7 billion) and Australia ($27.5 billion) were the  largest military spenders in the Asia and Oceania region. All four  countries increased their military spending between 2019 and 2020 and  over the decade 2011-20.Military expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa  increased by 3.4 per cent in 2020 to reach $18.5 billion. The biggest  increases in spending were made by Chad (+31 per cent), Mali (+22 per  cent), Mauritania (+23 per cent) and Nigeria (+29 per cent), all in  the Sahel region, as well as Uganda (+46 per cent).  Military  expenditure in South America fell by 2.1 per cent to $43.5 billion in  2020. The decrease was largely due to a 3.1 per cent drop in spending  by Brazil, the subregion's largest military spender. The combined  military spending of the 11 Middle Eastern countries for which SIPRI  has spending figures decreased by 6.5 per cent in 2020, to $143  billion. Eight of the nine members of the Organization of the  Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for which SIPRI has figures cut  their military spending in 2020. Angola's spending fell by 12 per  cent, Saudi Arabia's by 10 per cent, and Kuwait's by 5.9 per cent.  Non-OPEC oil exporter Bahrain also cut its spending by 9.8 per cent.

To recall, in 2019, global military spending reached $ 1.91 trillion,  the top five included the United States, China, India, Russia and  Saudi Arabia. The share of Russian companies among the largest arms  manufacturers then halved (only two Russian firms were mentioned in  the SIPRI study), and all five of the largest military-industrial  companies in the world were from the United States (Lockheed Martin,  Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics).