UN Chief Warns Global Military Spending Misaligned with Peace

Secretary-General António Guterres briefs reporters at the launch of his report, The Security We Need – Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future. Credit: Manuel Elías/UN Photo

Global military spending has been on the rise for more than 20 years, and in 2024, it surged across all five global regions to reach a record high of USD 2.7 trillion. Yet such growth has come at the cost of diverting financial resources away from sustainable development efforts, which the United Nations and its chief warn puts pressure on an “already strained financial context.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that member states needed to prioritise diplomacy and multilateralism to protect global security and development. His new report, The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, details the conditions that have allowed for increased military spending in contrast to an overall reduction in global development financing.

Amid rising tensions and conflicts, military spending has increased as an indication of governments’ priorities to address security concerns through military strength and deterrence. As some countries engage in conflicts, neighbouring nations may boost military spending to mitigate what the report describes as “the external risks of conflict spillover.”

Military expenditure has also increased in its share of the global economy. Between 2022 and 2024, it grew from 2.2 to 2.5 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). More than 100 countries boosted their military spending in 2024, with the top ten spenders accounting for 73 percent of the global expenditure. Europe and the Middle East recorded the sharpest increases in recent years, while Africa accounted for just 1.9 percent of the total.

To put this into perspective, the USD 2.7 trillion in military expenditure is equivalent to each person in the world contributing USD 334. It is 17 times greater than the total spending on COVID-19 vaccines, the total GDP of every African nation, and 13 times greater than the official development assistance (ODA) provided by OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries in 2024. It is 750 times higher than the UN’s annual budget for 2024.

The report also warns that development financing has not kept up with this increased spending. As the financing gap widens, ODA has declined. The annual financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is already at USD 4 trillion and could widen to USD 6.4 trillion in the years to come. This is critical at a time when the world is far off track to meet the SDGs’ 2030 deadline.

The report indicates that governments allocate less of their budgets to social investments when they increase military spending. This has reverberated across multiple civil sectors, notably education, public health, and clean energy. Military spending can create employment, and these benefits can be critical in times of severe insecurity. But it also generates fewer jobs per dollar compared to civilian sectors needed to sustain long-term productivity and peace. If USD 1 billion can generate 11,000 jobs in the military, that same amount can create 17,200 jobs in health care and 26,700 jobs in education.

The UN report reveals misaligned priorities in global spending and the growing scarcity of resources for essential development and social investments. It also warns that countries are moving away from diplomacy and prioritising militarised strategies.

At the report’s launch, Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, remarked that global trends in military spending indicated a systemic imbalance, where “militarisation is prioritised over development.”

“We need a new vision of security—human-centred and rooted in the UN Charter. A vision that safeguards people, not just borders; that prioritises institutions, equity, and planetary sustainability,” said Nakamitsu. “Rebalancing global priorities is not optional—it is an imperative for humanity’s survival.”

“We are in a world where fissures are deepening, official development assistance is falling, and human development progress is slowing,” said Haoliang Xu, the Acting Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “But we know that development is a driver of security, and multilateral development cooperation works. When people’s lives improve—when they have access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, and when they can live lives of dignity and self-determination—we will have more peaceful societies and a more peaceful world.”

Xu warned that the progress made towards development in the past 30 years may start to decline and even regress, noting that progress in the Global Human Development Index has dramatically slowed in the last two years.

Military spending places debt burdens and fiscal constraints on both developed and developing countries, yet the impact is more significant for developing nations, as their domestic resources are diverted away from development projects, while international support through ODA is reduced. A one-percent increase in military spending in low- and middle-income countries also aligns with a near-equal reduction in spending on public health services.

In his statement, Guterres acknowledged that governments have legitimate security responsibilities, including safeguarding civilians and addressing immediate threats, while also remarking that “lasting security cannot be achieved by military spending alone.”

“Investing in people is investing in the first line of defence against violence in any society,” he added. He noted that even a fraction of the budget allocated to military spending could “close vital gaps” in essential sectors such as education, healthcare, energy, and infrastructure.

“The evidence is clear: excessive military spending does not guarantee peace. It often undermines it—fueling arms races, deepening mistrust, and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability,” he said.

The report concludes with a five-point agenda for the international community to address global spending across multiple sectors and promote diplomatic dialogue:

Prioritise diplomacy, peaceful settlement of disputes, and confidence-building measures to address the underlying causes of growing military expenditure through 2030.

Bring military expenditure to the fore of disarmament discussions and improve links between arms control and development.

Promote transparency and accountability around military expenditure to build trust and increase fiscal accountability.

Reinvigorate multilateral finance for development.

Advance a human-centred approach to security and sustainable development.

Just before the report’s official launch on Tuesday, news broke that Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas members in Qatar’s capital, Doha, who were key mediators in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Guterres called the attack a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.”

“It lays bare a stark reality: the world is spending far more on waging war than on building peace,” he said.