From Italy to the Czech Republic: How is military spending growing across Europe?

Saturday, Aug 10, 2024

Il Sole 24 Ore

Global defense spending peaks at $2.3T; Italy and others boost military budgets amid geopolitical instability.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Global defense spending reached a peak of $2.3 trillion in 2023, marking six consecutive years of growth and an increase of over 35% since 2017. The United States remains the top spender at 38% of global expenditure ($916 billion), followed by China ($296 billion) and Russia ($109 billion). Europe saw unprecedented growth of 14% from 2022 to 2023, with Ukraine showing the most significant increase at 51%. Italy increased its defense budget by 20% in 2023 to nearly €30 billion, focusing on modernizing its armed forces through acquisitions like SAMP/T air defense systems and F-35 fighters. Other European nations also increased spending, with Germany up 10% and France up 12%. Spain is increasing its defense budget by 25%, aiming for the NATO 2% GDP target by 2029. In Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic plans to allocate 2% of its GDP to defense in 2024 to modernize forces against Russian aggression, while also facilitating ammunition transfers to Ukraine.

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