Whilst world military spending rose to $1.822 trillion in 2018, representing a 2.6% increase from 2017, spending in Africa fell by 8.4% last year to an estimated $40.6 billion or 2.2% of global military spending. Military spending by the USA increased for the first time since 2010, while spending by China grew for the 24th consecutive year. World military spending in 2018 represented 2.1% of global gross domestic product (GDP) or $239 per person. Its spending in 2018 was almost 10 times higher than in 1994, and accounted for 14% of world military spending. “This is despite the fact that Russian military spending has fallen for the past two years.”At $61.4 billion, Russian military spending was the sixth highest in the world in 2018.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 30, 2019 10:07 UTC