Turkey's military spending increased by 86 percent in a decade: Report

Turkey’s military spending in 2019 increased to $20.4 billion, a 86 percent rise compared to 2010, according to an annual report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Turkey is 16th in the report’s military expenditure rankings, with a world share of 1.1 percent.

Duvar English

Turkey’s military spending in 2019 increased to $20.4 billion, a 5.8 percent rise from the previous year and a 86 percent rise compared to 2010, according to an annual report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on April 27.

Turkey is 16th in the report’s 2019 military expenditure rankings, with a world share of 1.1 percent.

The country's military spending in 2019 represented 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), whereas this ratio was 2.3 percent in 2010.

The report said the global military spending reached $1.9 trillion in 2019, marking an increase of 3.6 percent from 2018 and the largest annual growth in spending since 2010. The largest spender in 2019 was the United States with a 38 percent share.

In 2019, China and India were, respectively, the second- and third-largest military spenders in the world. They were followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Germany led the military expenditure rise in Europe, the report said, adding that the country's military spending amounted to $49.3 billion in 2019, up 10 percent from previous year.