By Muhammad Mamman
Global defence expenditure surged to an all-time high of $2.7 trillion in 2024, with every region of the world increasing its military budgets amid intensifying conflicts and deepening geopolitical rivalries.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, presenting a new report on the risks of spiralling arms spending, lamented that nations are pouring vastly more resources into war than into peacebuilding.
“The world is spending far more on waging war than on building peace,” he warned.
According to the UN, the rise represents the steepest annual increase in over three decades. The $2.7 trillion devoted to military might dwarfs the $300 billion required to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide.
“A safer world begins by investing at least as much in ending poverty as we do in fighting wars,” Mr Guterres stressed.
The report highlights a stark imbalance: 2024’s global arms bill was 750 times the UN’s regular budget and nearly 13 times the total development aid provided by OECD nations.
Redirecting even a fraction of this spending, the UN argues, could:
- Put every child in low- and middle-income countries through school,
- End child malnutrition,
- Fund climate adaptation in vulnerable nations, and
- Accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Investing in people is the first line of defence against violence,” Guterres added, urging governments to prioritise diplomacy, cooperation, and human development over military build-ups.
UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu condemned the trend, saying massive arms budgets fuel mistrust and arms races while draining funds from education, health care, social investment, and environmental protection.
“Rebalancing global priorities is not optional – it is an imperative for humanity’s survival,” she insisted.
Deputy head of the UN Development Programme, Haoliang Xu, reinforced the call for a shift in focus:
“When people’s lives improve – through education, health, opportunity, and dignity – societies are more peaceful. Development itself is security.”
The report concludes that breaking the cycle of poverty, instability and militarisation is essential to halting the global arms race – and to securing a more stable, sustainable future.
