Armenia’s military spending grew 33% in 2017-2018: SIPRI

Armenia’s military spending grew 33% in 2017-2018: SIPRI

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s military spending has grown by a third in 2017-2018, according to a new report released Monday, April 29 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The country spent $609 million on military expenditures overall last year, up by 33%, SIPRI calculated.

The report says that a state’s military expenditure as a share of GDP—also known as the military burden—is the simplest measure of the relative economic burden the military places on that state.

From this viewpoint, Armenia is among the 10 countries with the biggest military burden, with military spending making up 4.8% of the country’s GDP.

The five biggest spenders in 2018 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France, which together accounted for 60% of global military spending. Russia was the sixth-largest spender in 2018.

According to the draft budget for 2019, Armenia is increasing defense expenditures by 25% year-on-year. In September 2018, Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan unveiled the proposed budget for this year, which revealed that the country will allocate AMD 307 billion (more than $625 million) to the Defense Ministry.

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