Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI) said 62 percent of the world's military spending constituted: The United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In comparison with 2018, total global military expenditures increased by 3.6 percent. This figure marks the largest annual increase in spending since 2010.
U.S. military spending increased by 5.3 percent to $732 billion, representing 38 percent of global expenditures.
The latest “Rating in American military expenditures is largely based on a perceived return to competition among the major powers”, said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher in SIPRI.
China's military spending reached $261 billion in 2019, or an increase of 5.1 percent year-on-year.
Russia, meanwhile, continued increasing military spending to $65.1 billion in 2019, a 4.5 per cent increase compared to the year 2018.
Russia's military expenses are 175 percent higher than in 2000, and now account for 88 percent of military spending in Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, all 29 NATO member states spent $1.04 trillion on weapons.
In the Middle East, Iran's military spending in 2019 dropped by 15 percent to 12.6 billion dollars compared to the previous year, despite increasing tensions with the United States and regional rivals.
SIPRI said the sharp decline in Iranian military expenditures coincided with US sanctions following Washington's release from the 2015 international nuclear agreement.
The decline of Iranian military spending came despite the fact that Saudi Arabia as the main regional rival spent $62 billion on its army in 2019.
