As tensions have increased in Europe, more NATO countries have stepped up spending.
Eight members countries last year reached the targeted 2 per cent of GDP for spending, one fewer than the year before but up from only two in 2014, Sipri said.
Lopes da Silva said he expected spending in Europe to continue to grow.
The US, which far outspent any other nation with US$801 billion, actually went against the global trend and decreased its spending by 1.4 per cent in 2021.
‘TECHNOLOGICAL EDGE’
Over the past decade, US spending on research and development has risen by 24 per cent while arms procurement has gone down by 6.4 per cent.
While both decreased in 2021, the drop in research was not as pronounced, highlighting the country’s focus “on next-generation technologies”.
“The US government has repeatedly stressed the need to preserve the US military’s technological edge over strategic competitors,” Alexandra Marksteiner, another researcher at Sipri, said in a statement.
China, the world’s second largest military spender at an estimated US$293 billion, boosted its expenditure by 4.7 per cent, marking the 27th straight year of increased spending.
The country’s military buildup has in turn caused its regional neighbours to beef up their military budgets, with Japan adding US$7 billion, an increase of 7.3 per cent – the highest annual increase since 1972.
Australia also spent 4 per cent more on its military, reaching US$31.8 billion in 2021.
India, the world’s third largest spender at US$76.6 billion, also increased funding in 2021, but by a more modest 0.9 per cent.
The UK took over the number four spot, with a 3 per cent increase in military spending to US$68.4 billion, replacing Saudi Arabia which instead decreased spending by 17 per cent to an estimated US$55.6 billion.
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