Armenia among world’s 10 countries with military burden of 4% or more of GDP

Global military expenditure is estimated to have been $1,917 billion in 2019, the highest level since 1988, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The total was 3.6% higher in real terms than in 2018 and 7.2% higher than in 2010, the Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019 reveals.

Armenia’s military spending grew slightly last year to make up 4.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP), making it one of the 10 countries with a military burden of 4% or more of GDP in the world.

Armenia ranks sixth on the list, which also features Oman (8.8%), Saudi Arabia, (8%), Kuwait (5.6%), Israel (5.3%), Jordan (4.7%), Lebanon (4.2%), Algeria (6%), Azerbaijan (4%) and Pakistan (4%).

Of the 149 countries for which SIPRI has military burden data for 2019, 10 allocated 4% or more of their GDP to the military, 13 had a military burden of 3–3.9% of GDP, 24 had a military burden of 2–2.9%, 65 had a military burden of 1–1.9%, and 34 allocated less than 1.0% of their GDP to the military. Three countries do not have a military and therefore have no military burden: Costa Rica, Iceland and Panama, the report says.

The world’s top five military spenders include the US, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.