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“Si vis pacem, para bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war), it is traditional to state. The question is how far we should prepare for war. What is the level beyond which we descend into irrational fear, to the point that spending on arms becomes unsustainable given other economic, social or development imperatives? We must ask the question of the nations who are tossing themselves into this mad and frantic race towards a security that only exists in their heads. The world is like this, particularly since Vladimir Putin launched his tanks into Ukraine. Since then we have had the worrying face-to-face between Israel and Iran, and behind them their supporters and friends; to add to the harmful whims of the enfant terrible of North Korea. But for Morocco and Algeria, the competition is first and foremost local, it takes place between neighbours. And from this point of view, Algiers has established the bar extremely high…, too high?
The last time we spoke to you regarding the military spending of Algeria and its neighbour, the meters were freaking out. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has redone its estimates, and refined things… and the expenses are still driving the counters wild. SIPRI, specializing in studies on conflicts and armaments, discussed in its latest report the amounts spent by countries to equip themselves militarily. The spending of Algeria and Morocco in 2023, among the most significant in Africa, has attracted attention.
“Algeria’s military spending grew by 76%, reaching $18.3 billion. This is the highest level of expenditure ever registered by Algeria and the largest annual increase in its expenditure since 1974 (…). This increase was boosted by a sharp increase in revenues from gas exports to European countries, which have turned away from Russian supplies,” remarks the institute in this document published yesterday Monday, April 22.
Conversely, Morocco’s military spending dropped, for the second year in a row, to stand at $5.2 billion, according to SIPRI assessments. “Algeria and Morocco remain by far the largest spenders in the sub-region, between them representing 82% of total North African military spending in 2023,” adds the same source.
Across Africa, military spending increased to $51.6 billion in 2023, up 22% compared to 2022. So the total Moroccan and Algerian spending represents almost half of the overall amount disbursed in the continent and Algiers alone weigh almost a third of the overall bill. Colossal…
In detail, sub-Saharan Africa paid 23.1 billion dollars in 2023 to arm itself, or 8.9% more than in 2022, but 22% less than in 2014. “The increase in 2023 can be attributed to the 20% growth in spending by Nigeria, the subregion’s largest military spender, and notable increases in spending by several other countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan », Specifies the document.
Across the world, total military spending last year stood at $2,443 billion, up 6.8% compared to 2022. “This is the biggest increase in one year after the other since 2009,” notes SIPRI, which adds that the 3 which sign the most checks in the world are the USA, China and Russia.
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