Following a decade-long military build-up, global military spending hit a record high in 2024, soaring by more than nine per cent from 2023 and signaling a dangerous move away from the principles of the UN Charter.
Amid an era of geopolitical tension and distrust fueling unprecedented death and destruction around the world, the UN Secretary-General’s report, The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, urges UN Member States to recalibrate security and development priorities.
“The evidence is clear: excessive military spending does not guarantee peace,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres who launched the report today. “It often undermines it – fueling arms races, deepening mistrust and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability.”
Global military spending, which hit $2.7 trillion last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, is projected to reach $6.6 trillion by 2035 if current trends persist. The massive diversion of resources poses a serious threat to humanity’s future by undermining sustainable peace and development.
Moreover, the report reveals a stark paradox: as military spending soars to record levels, the world is critically off-track to meet the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—humanity’s blueprint for a more equitable future. The annual financing gap for the SDGs is already $4 trillion and could widen to $6.4 trillion in the coming years.