Global military expenditure tops $2.7 trillion in 2024 - Report

Countries spent a record $2.7 trillion on arms and weapons systems last year, the fastest rise in military expenditure since at least the end of the Cold War in 1989.

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says that the figure shows an increase of just over 9 percent from 2023.

It said Europe spent the biggest on the military, fueled in part by the war in Ukraine.

SIPRI notes that Russia's spending went up 38 percent to an estimated $149 billion, dwarfing that of Ukraine which stood $64.7 billion.

Germany was central and western Europe's biggest spender in 2024, splashing some $88 billion on arms.

The United States, by far the biggest spender, increased expenditure by 5.7 percent, reaching nearly a trillion dollars. Washington alone accounts for 37 percent of worldwide spending.

Collectively, members of the NATO war alliance spent $1.5 trillion.

Another notable increase was by Israel whose spending surged 65 percent to reach $45 billion as it continues its war on Gaza.

China only increased its defence budget modestly. The world's second-largest economy's military spending expanded by 7 percent to reach an estimated $314 billion, the report said..