Azerbaijan cut military expenditure by 36% in 2016: reportApril 24, 2017 - 15:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan cut its military expenditure by 36% in 2016 due to falling national oil revenues, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said on Monday, April 24. Total world military expenditure rose to $1686 billion in 2016, an increase of 0.4% in real terms from 2015, according to new figures from SIPRI. The United States remains the country with the highest annual military expenditure in the world. US military spending grew by 1.7% between 2015 and 2016 to $611 billion. Military expenditure by China, which was the second largest spender in 2016, increased by 5.4% to $215 billion, a much lower rate of growth than in previous years. Russia increased its spending by 5.9% in 2016 to $69.2 billion, making it the third largest spender. World military spending in 2016 accounted for 2.2% of global GDP. Military spending as a share of GDP, was highest in the Middle East, with an average of 6.0% of GDP in 2016, while the lowest was in the Americas, with an average of 1.3 per cent of GDP. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia PM meets Iran’s Supreme Leader in Tehran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei Ruling MP accuses opposition of “serving other countries' interests” Khachatur Sukiasyan has accused Armenia’s opposition of serving the interests of other countries Protest leader vows to achieve departure of Armenian authorities According to Archbishop Bagrat, there is only one solution to the situation in Armenia. Heads of Armenian, Ukrainian parliaments hold virtual talks Alen Simonyan and Ruslan Stefanchuk held talks via video conference on Tuesday, May 21. |