Article Title: In 2024, India’s military expenditure was 9 times that of Pakistan
29-04-2025
Defence & Internal Security Current Affairs Analysis
Context
• India’s military spending in 2024 was nearly nine times that of Pakistan’s expenditure, according to a study released on Monday by a leading Swedish think tank that comes amid growing tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack.
• The country’s military expenditure, the fifth largest globally, grew by 1.6% to $86.1 billion while Pakistan spent $10.2 billion, according to the ‘Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024’ released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
• The top five military spenders — the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India — accounted for 60% of the global total, with combined spending of $1,635 billion, it said.
• China’s military expenditure increased by 7% to an estimated $314 billion, marking three decades of consecutive growth
• SIPRI said military spending in Europe (including Russia) rose by 17% to $693 billion and was the main contributor to the global increase in 2024.
• With the war in Ukraine in its third year, military expenditure kept rising across the continent, pushing European military spending beyond the level recorded at the end of the Cold War, it noted.
• SIPRI said Russia’s military expenditure reached an estimated $149 billion in 2024, a 38% increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015. This represented 7.1% of Russia's GDP and 19% of all Russian government spending.
• Ukraine's total military expenditure grew by 2.9% to reach $64.7 billion — equivalent to 43% of Russia's spending. At 34% of GDP, Ukraine had the largest military burden of any country in 2024, the report added.
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