Military editions explode: Germany opens up to super powers!

Military editions explode: Germany opens up to super powers!

The global military spending reached a new high in 2024, and over $ 2.7 trillion. This corresponds to an increase of 9.4 % compared to the previous year. According to the sipri this is the greatest increase since the end of the Cold War. The increasing expenses reflect the deteriorating security situation, as Diego Lopes da Silva from Sipri emphasizes. In particular, the war in Ukraine has caused many countries to increase their defense spending.

Germany takes on an outstanding position in this global context. The Federal Republic succeeds in moving from 7th place in the global ranking of military spending to 4th place, behind the USA, China and Russia. The increase in German expenditure is significantly due to a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, which played a central role in 2024. While Germany increases its military spending to $ 88.5 billion, Russia uses the sum of $ 149 billion, which means an increase of

European reactions to threats

The latest developments are not limited to Germany. Almost all European countries have increased their military spending, especially those that are geographically close to Russia. A remarkable exception is Malta. Ukraine invests $ 64.7 billion in its military, which makes up for 34 % of its GDP. This goes hand in hand with the challenge of leading the entire tax revenue into defense, while increasing expenditure against the background of an ongoing war is problematic.

In contrast, the United States continues to have the highest military spending at $ 997 billion, which corresponds to 37 % of global expenses. China also recorded an increase of 7 % with $ 314 billion and thus continues his budget increases in the 30th year in a row.

international trends and challenges

The Sipri report shows that around 100 states have increased their defense spending worldwide. However, this also has an impact on other vital sectors. In Great Britain, for example, cuts are planned in development aid to finance the increase in the military. Sweden also announced that his expenses for defense by 2035 increase by 300 billion crowns (28 billion euros), which also leads to cuts in other areas such as health and climate protection.

The high military expenditure rate and the increasing defense budget mean that important social issues may be neglected. Experts warn that the increasing military strength could lead to an escalation of the conflicts instead of peaceful diplomacy. As a result, it remains to be seen whether a trend reversal in military armaments policy will soon be possible. The Sipri report clearly shows that such a trend reversal is currently not foreseeable, and many states are planning to continue to increase their military expenses.