World Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military expenditures

2.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

2.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2019 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2018 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2017 est.)

note: in 2021, the world's largest defense budgets belonged to the US, China, India, the UK, and Russia; total global military expenditures were estimated at more than $2 trillion

Military and security service personnel strengths

estimated 20 million active duty military personnel worldwide (2021)

note: as of 2021, the largest militaries in the world based on personnel numbers belonged to China, India, the US, North Korea, and Russia

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

from 2010-2020, the US was assessed to be the world's leading arms exporter, followed by Russia; India and Saudi Arabia were the top arms importers for the same period

Military deployments

as of early 2022, there were about 75,000 UN peacekeepers deployed worldwide

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reports that 2021 saw a decrease in global pirate activities; in 2021, pirates attacked a total of 132 ships worldwide including boarding 115 ships, hijacking one ship, and firing on five; this activity is a decrease from 195 incidents in 2020 and the lowest number recorded since 1994; in 2021, the number of hostages taken was eight, and the number of seafarers kidnapped for ransom decreased to 57 compared with 135 in 2020, with all taken off West Africa

the EU naval mission, Operation ATALANTA, continues its operations in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean through 2022; naval units from Japan, India, and China also operate in conjunction with EU forces; China has established a logistical base in Djibouti to support its deployed naval units in the Horn of Africa

the Horn of Africa saw one incident of pirate activity in 2021, up from no attacks in 2020; the decrease in successful pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa since the peak in 2007 was due, in part, to anti-piracy operations by international naval forces, the hardening of vessels, and the increased use of armed security teams aboard merchant ships; despite these preventative measures, the assessed risk remains high

West Africa remains a dangerous area for piracy in the world, but saw a dramatic decrease in incidents with 34 attacks in 2021 compared to 81 in 2020, including one hijacking and three of five ships fired upon; Nigerian pirates are very aggressive, operating as far as 200 nm offshore and kidnapping 57 mariners in seven incidents accounting for all crew kidnappings world-wide; attacks against ships underway in the Singapore Straits increased 50% to 35 incidents in 2021; there were nine attacks in Indonesian waters in 2021 compared to 26 in 2020, primarily to ships anchored or berthed; the majority (71%) of global attacks against shipping have occurred in the offshore waters of eight countries - Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, and Sao Tome and Principe (2021)

NOTE: The information regarding World on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of World 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about World 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.