India world's fourth-largest military spender in 2022 — who are the top 3

India’s military expenditure rose by 6 percent in 2022 and the country stood as the fourth-highest spender in the world, according to the latest data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The total global military spending reached a new high of $2,240 billion in 2022, according to the latest data on global military spending published by SIPRI.

India’s military spend of $81.4 billion in 2022 saw a rise compared to 2021, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The top three spenders in 2022 were the United States, China and Russia, who accounted for 56 percent of the world’s total share of military expenditure, as per the Swedish think tank's data.

Last month, a separate report from SIPRI suggested that Russia was still India's biggest arms supplier, despite a fall in Indian defence imports from 62 percent to 45 percent between 2017 and 2022.

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As per the report, France was the second-largest supplier of arms with a 29 percent share, surpassing the US, which stood at 11 percent share. India was also named the world's largest arms importer, as per the earlier SIPRI report.

The recent data also suggested that the increase of 3.7 percent in global military spending was spurred by the Ukraine war.

Total global #MilitarySpending increased by 3.7% in real terms in 2022, to reach a new high of $2240 billion—the highest level ever recorded in SIPRI data. New SIPRI data out now.Press Release ➡️https://t.co/CUMd384wvlExplore the interactive graphic ➡️https://t.co/Idxdu8MNQ1 pic.twitter.com/oRKLYe9sIT

— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) April 23, 2023

The top three spenders

The United States was by far the world’s biggest military spender with $877 billion in 2022. The total expenditure by the US accounted for 39 percent of total global military spending and it was three times more than that of China, the second-largest spender.

“The increase in the USA’s military spending in 2022 was largely accounted for by the unprecedented level of financial military aid it provided to Ukraine,” Dr Nan Tian, SIPRI Senior Researcher said in a press release.

As per the report, US military aid to Ukraine in 2022 stood at $19.9 billion.

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China emerged as the second-largest military spender with an estimated expenditure of $292 billion in 2022, a 4.2 percent rise from 2021.

The third-largest spender was Russia with around $86.4 billion, marking a growth of 9.2 percent in military spending compared to the previous year. As per the data, Russia’s spend was equivalent to 4.1 percent of its GDP in 2022.

Other notable spenders

Ukraine’s military spending went up to $44 billion in 2022, marking a 640 percent jump, which was the highest single-year increase in a country’s military expenditure ever recorded by SIPRI.

Saudi Arabia’s military spending rose 16 percent to reach an estimated $75 billion, marking its first increase since 2018.

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Japan’s military spending increased by 5.9 percent and stood at $46.0 billion, or 1.1 percent of its GDP.

This was the highest since 1960, and the report suggests that it is due to a national security strategy published in 2022. The strategy plans to increase Japan’s military capability in response to perceived growing threats from China, North Korea, and Russia.

Ethiopia’s military spending also rose sharply by 88 percent to reach $1 billion due to a renewed government offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s military spending fell for the third year in a row, reaching $10.6 billion, marking a decline of 26 percent compared to 2021.