The global military expenditure hit a new high of $2240 billion, marking a 3.7% spike in 2022.

Qatar has ranked as the Gulf region’s second top military spender and the 20th globally, per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) latest annual report, published on Monday.

According to the latest report, Qatar spent $15.4 billion last year and came second place in the region after Saudi Arabia, which spent $75 billion and ranked the fifth biggest spender out of 40 countries. 

Qatar also ranked the top third out of 10 countries in terms of the highest military spending as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP), of which it spent 7%. Saudi Arabia came second with a 7.4% spending, as Ukraine spent 34% of its GDP as it continues to face an ongoing war with Russia.

Last month, SIPRI ranked Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt as three of the top ten global importers of weapons and arms in the five years leading up to 2022.

Aircrafts, air defence systems, armoured vehicles, missiles, naval weapons, sensors and ships were among the items Qatar purchased in 2022.

Qatar bought 36 combat aircrafts from France, 36 from the United States, 8 from the United Kingdom, as well as 3 frigates from Italy, according to SIPRI.

The top ten arm importers globally in the previous five years were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, China, Egypt, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan and the United States.

Meanwhile, in its 2021 report, SIPRI revealed that Qatar’s military spending reached $11.6 billion, which made it one of the top spenders in the Arab world. 

At the time, Qatar’s military expenditure saw a 434% spike in comparison to 2010, which was the last time such data was released by the Gulf state. Qatar had spent 4.8% of its GDP on the military.

Also in 2021, a separate SIPRI report on arms sales found that Qatar’s imports saw a 361% increase from 2016 to 2020. The institute suggested the increase of arms transactions was possibly linked to heightened regional tensions at the time of the 2017 GCC crisis.

At the time, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt imposed an illegal air, land and sea blockade on Qatar. However, that crisis has now subsided.

Four out of the top 10 arms importers in the previous report were in the MENA region, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.

Zooming out of the region and on the global spendings, SPRI found that the overall military expenditure hit a new high of $2240 billion, marking a 3.7% spike in 2022. The report attributed the rise in spendings to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

The three largest military spenders in 2022 were the US, China, and Russia.

Qatar’s military expansion

Qatar has strong military ties with its international partners and these relationships were crucial during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the Gulf state.

During the major sporting event, the first to take place in the region, several countries provided security support, including Turkey, the UK, the US, South Korea, Italy, Morocco, among several others.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ “The Military Balance” 2022 report, Qatar’s army including the Amiri Guard has reached at least 12,000 personnel.

Qatar’s navy reached 2,500 and includes coast guards, marine police, and coastal artillery. Meanwhile, the Qatari Air Force has 2,000 personnel, equipped with 53 combat capable aircrafts.

The Gulf state also hosts the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military post in the region, where at least 11,000 American troops are placed.

Qatar’s and America’s ties were strengthened last year when US President Joe Biden designated Qatar as a major non-nato ally (MNNA).