According to SIPRI, global military expenditure reached $2,718B in 2024, a 9.4% annual increase and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least 1988. What’s the scam?
The scam is while world spending on humanitarian aid is in decline, conflicts are raging, and military spending per person reached $334 globally, with the military burden rising to 2.5% of world GDP.
The UN Secretary-General’s 2025 report, The Security We Need, warned global security has continued to deteriorate despite rising military investment, and the arms build-up is actively undermining progress against poverty and other goals.
In lower- and middle-income countries, statistical analysis cited in the report shows that a 1% increase in
the military burden is associated with a near-equal reduction in health expenditure.
In Australia, the 2018 Defence Export Strategy set an ambition to make Australia a top-ten global defence exporter. While export data remains notoriously opaque, most estimates suggest Australian arms exports have more than doubled since the strategy was launched, even as the aid budget flatlines.
Meanwhile, last week’s Women Deliver Conference exposed the collapse in humanitarian funding, and women and girls, alongside whole societies, pay the price in conflict zones across the world. Australia is selling more weapons than ever before.
Women Deliver Conference. Glimmers of hope amid the doom and gloom?