Annual military spending worldwide will exceed $2 trillion by 2021 despite the pandemic of covid-19, according to a report released this week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The record $2.11 billion (134.7 billion meticals) represents a rise of 0.7% in real terms from 2020, and amounts to an additional 6.1% in nominal terms, constituting 2.2% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The United States maintains the undisputed lead in military spending, with 38% of world spending and $801 billion (51.1 billion meticals), down 1.4%, from 2020 due to the effect of inflaction.

U.S. research and development financing has increased 24% over the past decade, suggesting that the U.S. focus is on next-generation technology.

The US is followed by China, with an estimated expenditure of $293 billion (18.7 billion meticais), accounting for 14% of world expenditure, ahead of India with 3.6%, the UK with 3.2%, and Russia with 3.1%.

Russia recorded an increase in military spending for the third year in a row, up 2.9% in 2021 year-on-year to 65.9 billion (4.2 billion meticals), thanks to oil and gas profits, SIPRI notes.

Ukraine, ranked 36th in the world, spent $5.9 billion (376.7 billion meticais), down 8.5%, although its arms spending has increased 72% since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The combined spending of the top five countries accounts for 62% of the global total. France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea, in that order, rounded out the list of the top ten countries that spent the most on arms last year. (News)