World military spending grows despite Covid-19 pandemic

Global military spending increased by 2.6 per cent to $1,981 billion (about 1,650 billion euros) in 2020, when global GDP shrank 4.4 per cent, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Military expenditure worldwide rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020, defying the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers said Monday. Global military spending increased by 2.6 per cent to $1,981 billion (about 1,650 billion euros) in 2020, when global GDP shrank 4.4 percent, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Diego Lopes da Silva, one of report's authors, told AFP the development was unexpected.