Military&nbsp;expenditure worldwide rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020, defying the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers said on Monday.

Global&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending increased by 2.6 per cent to $1,981 billion (about 1,650 bn euros) in 2020, when global GDP shrank 4.4 per cent, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Diego Lopes da Silva, one of report's authors, said&nbsp;the development was unexpected.

"Because of the pandemic, one would think&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending would decrease," he said. "But it's possible to conclude with some certainty that Covid-19 did not have a significant impact on global&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending, in 2020 at least."

He cautioned however that due to the nature of&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending, it could take time for countries "to adapt to the shock".

The fact that&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending continued to increase in a year with an economic downturn meant the "military&nbsp;burden", or the share of&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending out of total GDP, had increased as well.

The overall share rose from 2.2 per cent to 2.4 per cent, the largest year-on-year increase since the financial crisis of 2009.

As a result, more NATO members hit the Alliance's guideline target of spending at least two percent of GDP on their&nbsp;military, with 12 countries doing so in 2020 compared to nine in 2019.

There were however indications the pandemic had affected some countries.

Nations such as Chile and South Korea openly decided to reappropriate&nbsp;military&nbsp;funds in response to the pandemic.

"Other countries, such as Brazil and Russia, did not explicitly say this was reallocated because of the pandemic, but they have spent considerably less than their original budget for 2020," Lopes da Silva said.

Another response, as in Hungary for example, was to increase&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending "as part of a stimulus package in response to the pandemic".

Lopes da Silva noted many countries responded to the 2008-2009 economic crisis by adopting austerity measures, but "this time around it might not be the case".

The&nbsp;world's two biggest spenders by far were the US and China, with Washington accounting for 39 percent of overall expenditure and Beijing for 13 per cent.

China's&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending has risen in tandem with its growing economy and has seen an increase for 26 consecutive years, reaching an estimated $252 bn in 2020.

The US also increased its spending for the third year in a row in 2020, after seven years of reductions.

"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&nbsp;military," Alexandra Marksteiner, another author of the report, said in a statement.

Lopes da Silva however noted that the new "Biden administration has not given any indications that it will reduce&nbsp;military&nbsp;spending."

(With inputs from agencies)

Military expenditure worldwide rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020, defying the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers said on Monday. Global military spending increased by 2.

Military expenditure worldwide rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020, defying the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers said on Monday. Global military spending increased by 2.6 per cent to $1,981 billion (about 1,650 bn euros) in 2020, when global GDP shrank 4.4 per cent, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Diego Lopes da Silva, one of report's authors, said the development was unexpected. "Because of the pandemic, one would think military spending would decrease," he said. "But it's possible to conclude with some certainty that Covid-19 did not have a significant impact on global military spending, in 2020 at least." He cautioned however that due to the nature of military spending, it could take time for countries "to adapt to the shock". The fact that military spending continued to increase in a year with an economic downturn meant the "military burden", or the share of military spending out of total GDP, had increased as well. The overall share rose from 2.2 per cent to 2.4 per cent, the largest year-on-year increase since the financial crisis of 2009. As a result, more NATO members hit the Alliance's guideline target of spending at least two percent of GDP on their military, with 12 countries doing so in 2020 compared to nine in 2019. There were however indications the pandemic had affected some countries. Nations such as Chile and South Korea openly decided to reappropriate military funds in response to the pandemic. "Other countries, such as Brazil and Russia, did not explicitly say this was reallocated because of the pandemic, but they have spent considerably less than their original budget for 2020," Lopes da Silva said. Another response, as in Hungary for example, was to increase military spending "as part of a stimulus package in response to the pandemic". Lopes da Silva noted many countries responded to the 2008-2009 economic crisis by adopting austerity measures, but "this time around it might not be the case". The world's two biggest spenders by far were the US and China, with Washington accounting for 39 percent of overall expenditure and Beijing for 13 per cent. China's military spending has risen in tandem with its growing economy and has seen an increase for 26 consecutive years, reaching an estimated $252 bn in 2020. The US also increased its spending for the third year in a row in 2020, after seven years of reductions. "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," Alexandra Marksteiner, another author of the report, said in a statement. Lopes da Silva however noted that the new "Biden administration has not given any indications that it will reduce military spending." (With inputs from agencies)

Global military spending went up to nearly $2 trillion in 2020 despite pandemic

India has emerged as one of the five biggest military spenders in 2017, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found.

With an expenditure of $ 63.9 billion on military in 2017, India marked a 5.5 per cent rise from the figures in 2016.

China made the biggest leap with an increase of 5.6 per cent ($12 billion) from 2016, and became the highest defence spender in Asia at $ 228 billion.

Military tension between India and China may have driven India's defence expense, as indicated by Senior Researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme, Siemon Wezeman.Wezeman said, "Tensions between China and many of its neighbours continue to drive the growth in military spending in Asia.

"The United States retained the top spot at $ 610 billion, with unchanged military expenditure between 2016 and 2017.

Saudi Arabia emerged as the third biggest spender in 2017 at $ 69.4 billion, an increase of 9.2 per cent from 2016.

The report found a sharp drop in Russia's military expenditure that dropped by 20 per cent from 2016 to stand at $ 66.3 billion.Overall, the global military expenditure showed a rising trend as a marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in real terms from 2016, resulted in $ 1739 billion expenditure in 2017.

"The increases in world military expenditure in recent years have been largely due to the substantial growth in spending by countries in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, such as China, India and Saudi Arabia," said Dr Nan Tian, Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme.&nbsp

Military tension between India and China may have driven India's defence expense, as indicated by Senior Researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme, Siemon Wezeman.Wezeman said, "Tensions between China and many of its neighbours continue to drive the growth in military spending in Asia

India has emerged as one of the five biggest military spenders in 2017, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found. With an expenditure of $ 63.9 billion on military in 2017, India marked a 5.5 per cent rise from the figures in 2016. China made the biggest leap with an increase of 5.6 per cent ($12 billion) from 2016, and became the highest defence spender in Asia at $ 228 billion. Military tension between India and China may have driven India's defence expense, as indicated by Senior Researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme, Siemon Wezeman.Wezeman said, "Tensions between China and many of its neighbours continue to drive the growth in military spending in Asia. "The United States retained the top spot at $ 610 billion, with unchanged military expenditure between 2016 and 2017. Saudi Arabia emerged as the third biggest spender in 2017 at $ 69.4 billion, an increase of 9.2 per cent from 2016. The report found a sharp drop in Russia's military expenditure that dropped by 20 per cent from 2016 to stand at $ 66.3 billion.Overall, the global military expenditure showed a rising trend as a marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in real terms from 2016, resulted in $ 1739 billion expenditure in 2017. "The increases in world military expenditure in recent years have been largely due to the substantial growth in spending by countries in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, such as China, India and Saudi Arabia," said Dr Nan Tian, Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme.

India among top 5 military spenders: Report

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Global military spending went up to nearly $2 trillion in 2020 despite pandemic

India among top 5 military spenders: Report