India World's Fourth Largest Defence Spender In 2022, Says Report
'The increase in India’s spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan,' the report released on Monday said.
India was the world's fourth-largest military spender in 2022, with its defence spending increasing by around six percent as compared to 2021, a report by the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.
The military expenditure report said around 23% of the total spending by India was towards funding equipment and infrastructure, including that along the China border, where tension continues. However, a major part of the spending was on expenditures like salaries and pensions.
With a military expenditure of $81.4 billion, India's spending was up by 6% from 2021 and by 47% as compared to 2013.
"The increase in India’s spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan," the report released on Monday said.
Expenditure on capital outlays, which funds equipment upgrades for the armed forces and the military infrastructure along its disputed border with China, amounted to 23% of the total military spending in 2022. Personnel expenses like salaries and pensions remained the largest expenditure category in the Indian military budget, accounting for around half of all military spending.
The United States, accounting for 39% of the world's military spending in 2022, was the top spender, followed by China (13%), Russia (3.9%), India (3.6%), and Saudi Arabia (3.3%).
Together, these five countries accounted for 63% of total global military spending in 2022.
In 2022, the 15 largest spenders together accounted for 82% of the world's military expenditure of $1,842 billion.
Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7% in real terms in 2022 to reach a new high of $2,240 billion. Military expenditure in Europe saw its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years.
In 2022, the United States, China, and Russia accounted for 56% of the world total.
In 2021, India’s military spending of $76.6 billion ranked third in the world. It was the fifth-largest military spender in the world in 2016 at $55.9 billion.
