The United States’ military spending has risen for the first time in seven years, according to a new report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Worldwide military spending also rose by 2.6 percent to $1.8 trillion overall last year, SIPRI calculated. Which it has said reflects the Trump policy since he came into power.
It was the second year running the global figure has risen, bringing military spending to its highest level since 1988.
“The increase in US spending was driven by the implementation from 2017 of new arms procurement programmes under the Trump administration,” said Aude Fleurant, director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme.
The US spending of $649 billion was as much as the next eight highest military budgets combined.
Elsewhere China’s spending has risen 83 percent since 2009, bringing it up to the second place, ahead of Saudi Arabia, India and France.
Russia meanwhile dropped out of the top five spenders, with its military budget declining since 2016 largely due to the sanctions placed on Russia since its conflict with Ukraine.
Last week it was reported by the BBC that the US spends 1,3 million dollars per day in Afghanistan, its longest running war in its history.
