- The world spent more money than ever on its militaries in 2022, a new report found.
- The US spent $877 billion in 2022, which accounts for almost 40 percent of all spending.
The world's governments are spending more money than ever on their militaries, a new report finds. And, to no one's surprise, the United States leads them all.
The United States spent a total of $877 billion on its military in 2022, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, which maintains a database on military spending around the world.
That's almost 40% of total global military spending and possibly as much as three times more than the second-biggest spender, China — though it's hard to know for sure how much China is spending.
"In 2022 the USA allocated $295 billion to military operations and maintenance, $264 billion to procurement and research and development, and $167 billion to military personnel," the report says.
By comparison, the US federal government allocated just $76.4 billion in discretionary spending for education that same year. That means the US federal government is spending more than 10 times as much on its military than it is on education. While state and local municipalities also contribute money toward education in the United States, the Biden administration has requested just $90 billion for education in 2024 and $842 billion for defense.
Total global military spending reached an all-time high in 2022, the report found. Governments shelled out about $2.24 trillion. That's a 3.7% increase from 2021, which was the biggest year-on-year increase in more than 30 years.
European countries saw the largest increases in spending, driven in large part by Russia's invasions of Ukraine in February last year. The report found that, in real terms, European military spending had returned to levels not seen since the Cold War.
"The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world," Nan Tian, a senior researcher at SIPRI, wrote in the report. "States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future."