First global military expenditure dip since 1998

Global military expenditure dipped last year for the first time since 1998, as defence spending shrank in the West but rose in Russia, China and the Middle East, according to a Swedish-based arms watchdog.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said the world spent $1.75 trillion (£1.14tn) on its armed forces in 2012, down 0.5 per cent from the year before. The fall, driven by spending cuts in the US and other Nato nations, was partially offset by increases elsewhere. Military spending rose by 7.8 per cent in China and by 16 per cent in Russia, while Oman’s 51 per cent boost was the biggest percentage increase in the world.

“We are seeing what may be the beginning of a shift in the balance of world military spending from the rich western countries to emerging regions,” SIPRI researcher Sam Perlo-Freeman said, adding that the drop in the West was linked to austerity policies and the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

SIPRI’s report showed the US still way ahead of all other countries, with 39 per cent of global military spending in 2012. It was the first time it had fallen below 40 per cent since the Cold War.