#ASDailyScoop: Ethiopia’s military spending in 2022 increased by 88% to $1 billion – research

Addis Abeba – According to new data on global military spending published on Monday, 24 April, by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Ethiopia spent 1 billion USD on military expenditures in 2022, showing an increase of 88 percent from the previous year.

According to the data, the increase coincided with a renewed government offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the country’s North in 2022.

In real terms, total military expenditure worldwide climbed by 3.7 percent in 2022 for the eighth year in a row, reaching an all-time high record of 2240 USD billion, according to SIPRI. The three largest spenders are the United States, China, and Russia, accounting for 56 percent of the global total. The United States remains by far the world’s biggest military spender.

By far the sharpest rise in spending in the past eight years was seen in Europe, which is over 13 percent and was largely accounted for by Russian-Ukrainian military spending.

The consequences of inflation, which in many countries soared to levels not seen in decades, slowed the real-term increase in global military spending in 2022, reads report. The global total rose by 6.5 percent in current values without accounting for inflation.

“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” said Dr. Nan Tian, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. “States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future.” AS