فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
In a document published on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) noted that Moroccan military spending will fall by 2.5% in 2023 while the eastern neighbor’s spending will rise by 76%. However, the Kingdom and Algeria remain at the forefront of countries “spending” on weapons.
The latest report issued by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), entitled “Global Military Expenditure for the Year 2023,” indicated a slight decrease in Morocco’s military spending. These declines amounted to $5.2 billion, which represents 3.64% of the national gross domestic product, according to the institution.
However, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Morocco and its neighbor Algeria remain the main arms spenders in North Africa for 2023. The amounts committed by the two hostile brothers in this region represent 82% of military spending in the region during previous maneuvers.
In short, North African countries spent $28.5 billion in 2023 to strengthen their military arsenals, an increase of 38% compared to 2022. But it is Algeria that takes the lion’s share in terms of the budget allocated to weapons.
Concretely, the military spending of the eastern neighbor rose by 76%, reaching $18.3 billion in 2023. We are talking about the highest level ever recorded by the country and the largest annual increase since 1974. This upward trend is explained, according to the report, by “a sharp increase in Gas export revenues to European countries.
In other words, Algeria is re-injecting gas revenues into arms purchases, placing itself in third place on the list of countries’ military spending based on their gross domestic product. The country comes behind Lebanon (second) and Ukraine, but ahead of Saudi Arabia (fourth).
At the continental level, military spending in Africa reached $51.6 billion in 2023, an increase of 22% compared to 2022, and 1.5% compared to 2014.
From: Fez News website
