Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend K.Ramazanova / Azerbaijan and Belarus ranked as the two individual countries with the biggest growth in military spending, at 82% and 56 % respectively, reported the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 11 June.
From 2005 to 2006, the largest regional increase occurred in Eastern Europe, where the military budget rose by 12% overall.
According to experts, in 2006 over €900bln in the world was directed towards military purposes. The rise in expenses per resident of the planet was €137, up from last year. Global military spending increased by 37% over the past ten years. Global military spending reached $1.2 trillion last year.
Looking back over the past decade, significant increases have been registered in Central Asia and Russia, though the Stockholm-based institute said completely reliable data was not available for those areas.
With $529bln (€396bln) set aside for military purposes in 2006; up from $505bln in 2005; the United States accounted for 46% of the total global military budget.
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