ISLAMABAD – Pakistan was 2018’s 20th biggest military spender in the worldwith an expenditure of $11.4 billion, a reportlinkby the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said.
The military spending of 2018 made up for four per cent of Pakistan’s grossdomestic product (GDP) which is the highest level since 2004, according tothe report by the Sweden-based institute.
The Sipri report ranked Pakistan among the top 10 countries with thehighest “military burden” — described as a “state’s military expenditure asa share of GDP”.
Since 2009, Pakistan’s military spending has increased every year, thereport stated, adding that between 2009 and 2018 the spending increased by73pc. In 2017-18, the increase in military expenditure was 11 percent.
The top military spender in the world is the United States, which spent$649bn on its forces last year. The US military spending, however, hasdecreased by 17pc over the past decade, the report said.
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It is followed by China (around $250bn), Saudi Arabia (around $67.6bn),India ($66.5bn) and France ($63.8bn). These five countries accounted for60pc of the global military spending.
According to the report, India’s military spending, which rose by 3.1pcbetween 2017-18, was “largely motivated by tensions and rivalry withPakistan and China”.
