India fifth largest defence spender, Pakistan does not feature in top 15: report

World military spending was $1.69 trillion in 2016, according to Swedish think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) report ranking countries based on military spending in the last year.

Spending increased for a second consecutive year. Spending grew in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and North Africa. By contrast, military spending fell in Central America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, South America and sub-Saharan Africa.

NEW SIPRI data launch on trends in world military expenditure: https://t.co/Opctok24Xl #SIPRIFacts #Milex pic.twitter.com/Jak4KwgHoQ

— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) April 24, 2017

The United States had the highest annual military expenditure in the world. The country's military spending grew by 1.7 per cent. China's military expenditure grew by 5.4 per cent when compared to last year. Russia was the third largest spender with an increase of 5.9 per cent.

Saudi Arabia was the third largest spender in 2015 but dropped to fourth place in 2016 as its expenditure fell by 30 per cent to $63.7 billion, “despite its continued involvement in regional wars”, it added.



India was the fifth-largest military spender in the world as its expenditure grew by 8.5 per cent, spending $55.9 billion in 2016 on defence.

The 15 largest spenders on military account for $1,360 billion, or 81%, of total global military spending. #SIPRIFacts #Milex #Arms pic.twitter.com/0XZ1JfQCKK

— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) April 24, 2017

Pakistan spent 3.5 per cent of its GDP on military and did not feature in the top fifteen spenders, which make up 81 per cent of total global military spending.