Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: Global military spending increased despite coronavirus pandemic

STOCKHOLM — Instead of world states allocating their budgets to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, most of them have increase their military spending, according to a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The Institute report indicated that total global military spending amounted to $1.981 trillion in 2020, an increase of 2.9% from 2019.

The U.S., China, India, Russia, and United Kingdom topped the list of highest defense spenders, together accounting for 62% of global military spending. The U.S. alone accounted for 39% of the total military spending.

Despite the overall increase, some countries, such as Chile and South Korea, have allocated part of their military budgets to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.