World Military Spending Reaches All-Time High of $2.24 Trillion

World military spending reached an all-time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fueled a sharp jump in military spending across Europe, according to a leading defense think tank.

Global spending rose for the eighth consecutive year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday in its annual report on global military expenditure, Al Jazeera reported.

There was a 13 percent rise in Europe, the steepest in at least 30 years.

SIPRI said most of that was linked to Russia and Ukraine, but other countries also stepped up military spending in response to perceived Russian threats.