Record military spending threatening peace, stalling development: UN

In its report titled “The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future”, the UN noted that five power blocs — China, India, Russia, the US and the European Union — together account for over 70 per cent of global military expenditure and two-thirds of global emissions.

The report also flagged regional risks, warning that India, Thailand and Bangladesh could face refugee influxes from Myanmar, where the ruling junta’s military campaign has driven defence spending up 66 per cent in a year to $5 billion — the sharpest increase worldwide in 2024. “The conflict has heightened the risk of violence and refugee flows into Bangladesh, India and Thailand,” it said.

The UN said a decade-long military build-up has pushed global defence spending to a record high in 2024, rising by more than 9 per cent from 2023 and signalling a dangerous drift from the principles of the UN Charter.

If current trends continue, it is projected to hit $6.6 trillion by 2035, according to UN estimates drawing on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Global military spending is rising not just in absolute terms but also as a share of the world economy — climbing from 2.2 per cent to 2.5 per cent of global GDP and from 6.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent of government budgets since 2022. More than 100 countries boosted their defence outlays in 2024 alone.

“The evidence is clear: excessive military spending does not guarantee peace,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said while launching the report. He underlined that the diversion of resources “poses a serious threat to humanity’s future by undermining sustainable peace and development”.

The UN stressed the trade-offs, noting that less than 4 per cent of annual military spending — about $93 billion — could eradicate hunger by 2030, while 10 per cent — or $285 billion — could fully vaccinate every child worldwide.

The report highlighted a stark paradox: as defence budgets hit historic highs, the world is critically off-track on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The annual SDG financing gap has already reached $4 trillion and could widen to $6.4 trillion in coming years.