Analysis of world military expenditures on production and armaments in the context of modern geopolitical threats

Abstract

Geopolitical threats and military conflicts in the first quarter of the 21st century have led to changes in the structure of countries' expenditures, with an increase in defense spending on production and armaments, as well as financial support for humanitarian, economic and military needs of the warring countries. The main reason for the increase in military spending in the world is the russian-Ukrainian war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and other geopolitical risks in the Middle East and Taiwan. The growth of these risks encourages countries to increase defense spending, which further complicates the issue of financing socially important and public initiatives. It has been established that global military spending tends to increase during 2015–2023. Last year's military expenditures amounted to up to $2,240 billion, and this figure is the highest of the analyzed periods. Among the world's regions, such as North America, East Asia, Oceania, South Asia, and Europe, there is an increase in defense spending. The only region where military spending fell in 2022 was Africa, due to natural disasters and catastrophes within the region. The share of country expenditures in the structure of global defense spending has increased in countries such as the United States, China, russia, Saudi Arabia, and India. The United Kingdom, France and Japan are maneuvering in almost the same amount of spending during 2015–2023. There is also a trend in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc states, which have been increasing their spending since 2014, after the occupation of Crimea. Military and humanitarian support for Ukraine from Western partners remains a key necessity for deterring the russian aggressor, but the plan for the supply of equipment and weapons does not cover all possible needs of Ukraine, which leads to the search for other ways to maintain the country's military defense capability.