- STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -- U.S. spending in Iraq and Afghanistan helped push
up global 2005 military expenditure by 3.5 percent to $1.12 trillion, a
research body said on Monday.
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- Several countries, including Saudi Arabia
and Russia, benefited from the rise in prices for minerals and fossil fuels
to boost their military spending, the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest yearbook.
-
- "The USA is responsible for 48 percent
of the world total, distantly followed by the UK, France, Japan and China
with 4 to 5 percent each," the Swedish government-funded institute
added.
-
- It said U.S. spending was behind about
80 percent of the gain in 2005.
-
- Spending on weapons accounted for 2.5
percent of the world's gross domestic product, or average spending of $173
per capita.
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- A process of concentration of spending
continued in 2005, it added, as 15 countries with the highest spending
accounted for 84 percent of the world total.
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- The global rise in raw materials' prices
helped some countries to spend more on weapons.
-
- "This is reflected especially in
Algeria, Azerbaijan, Russia and Saudi Arabia, where increased proceeds
from oil and gas exploitation have boosted government revenues and freed
up funds for military spending," it added.
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- China and India also increased spending.
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- "In absolute terms, their current
spending is only a fraction of the USA's. Their increases are largely commensurate
with their economic growth," the institute said.
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