DID Press: Saudi Arabia ranked as the world’s seventh-largest military spender in 2024 after allocating USD 80.3 billion to defense, according to a report by Al Eqtisadiah newspaper.
The report notes that a sharp rise in defense budgets among European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom following the Ukraine war pushed Saudi Arabia down two places compared with its 2023 ranking. Despite this decline, the kingdom remains the largest military spender among Arab countries and across West Asia.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show that global military expenditure reached a record USD 2.718 trillion in 2024.
The report adds that while countries such as Saudi Arabia continue to follow the prevailing global militarization trend led by the United States, increased investment in armaments does not necessarily guarantee the level of security sought. It argues that, particularly in the volatile West Asia region, regional security depends more on cooperation, pursuit of collective interests, mutual respect, and adherence to good-neighborly principles than on reliance on external powers.