U.S. military spending rose 4.6 per cent last year to reach $649 billion, leaving it still by far the world’s biggest spender. It accounted for 36 per cent of total global military expenditure, nearly equal to the following eight biggest-spending countries combined, SIPRI said. “In 2018 the USA and China accounted for half of the world’s military spending,” Nan Tian, a researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) program, said. His defence spending request to Congress this year is the largest ever in dollar terms before adjustment for inflation. Military expenditure by all 29 NATO members amounted to just over half of global spending, SIPRI added.

Source: National Post April 29, 2019 14:21 UTC