The cost of global arms purchases rose to $ 1981 billion last year, an increase of 2.6 percent from 2019 according to new data published by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute [SIPRI}.
The countries that spent the most money in 2020 which spent 62 percent of all world arms spending included the United States China India Russia, India, and Russia.
China's arms purchases increased by 26 times.
In 2017 the United States spent 3.1 percent of its revenue on arms, a quarter of the nation's total spending on weapons, according to SIPRI.
From that, it is clear that Washington is not one of the 20 nations that use their wealth to buy military weapons.
Here are the top 10 countries on the list.
10. Bahrain
Bahrain was ruled by a Sunni monarchy but most of its citizens are Shiite Muslims, an issue that has been a source of tension in the nation.
In 2011, during the Arab Revolution, Gulf Council troops were deployed in the country to quell protests.
In 2017 the nation set aside $ 1,396m in spending in the defense sector which is 4.1 percent of its revenue according to Sipri estimates.
9. Russia
In 2017, Russia for the first time reduced its spending on military equipment since 1998, reducing its spending by 20 percent to $ 66,335m, equivalent to 4.3 percent of its gross domestic product.
According to Siemon Wezeman, chief investigator at SIPRI, the reduction is due to the economic crisis the nation has been witnessing since 2014 because strengthening its military to modern standards has been a priority for Moscow.
8. Lebanon
Of the ten nations with the world's military burden, six are from the Middle East. And the nation of Lebanon is among them.
The nation was embroiled in a civil war between 1975 and 1990 and since then its political life has been marked by deep divisions.
Its domestic and foreign policy has been influenced by its Syrian neighbors, as well as the strength of the Hezbollah Islamist militant group that in 2006 fought against Israel.
Its military spending reached $ 2,441m equivalent to 4.5% of its gross domestic product.
7. Israel
Since its inception in 1948, the nation of Israel has been surrounded by nations claiming to be its enemies.
The situation was remedied after the signing of a peace agreement with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
However, the nation continues to be hostile, especially on its border with Syria, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah militants, who are allies of Iran, one of the two countries that do not see eye to eye with Israel.
According to Sipri, the Israeli army as of 2017 was spending $ 16,489m which is 4.7% of its output.
6. Jordan
Jordan gained its independence in 1946 and has since been plagued by tensions over conflict situations.
wIn 1967, during a six-day war against Israel, the nation lost West Bank and Jerusalem territories that had been occupied since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
In 1984, he signed a peace agreement with Israel, a move that does not protect him from the ongoing security crisis in the region, such as the Islamic State.
In 2017, it allocated $ 1,939m in the defense sector, equivalent to 4.8% of its gross domestic product.
5. Algeria
The nation of Algeria has experienced the worst periods of violence in its history as an independent nation that began in 1962.
Some of these episodes are due to tensions between the religious and secular groups of his community.
Between 1992 and 1998, the nation was embroiled in a civil war that resulted in more than 100,000 deaths following the cancellation of elections in which the Islamic Salvation group appeared to be emerging victorious.
Since then, the nation has continued to be plagued by Islamic violence but has also been hit by attacks by militant groups such as Al Qaeda from the Islamic Maghreb.
In 2017, it registered Sipri's estimated spending of $ 10,073m equivalent to 5.7% of its gross domestic product.
4. Kuwait
With 17,818 kilometers of land and less than a million people, Kuwait is a small nation surrounded by neighbors: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq.
The nation owns several US camps where some of the forces of the international coalition fighting against Islamic State groups reside.
In 2017, it allocated $ 6,831m, equivalent to 5.8% of its output.
3. Congo
Spending 6.2 percent of its gross domestic product on goods, the Republic of Congo in the African nation allocates the largest wealth to the defense sector, allocating $ 484m according to Cyprus estimates.
The nation has witnessed several internal conflicts under the leadership of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, a former soldier who ruled the country between 1979 and 1992 and who returned to power in 1997 and who remains to this day.
2. Saudi Arabia
Since 2015, the Saudi government has led a group of nations in the war in Yemen against Houthi-backed Houthi rebels.
The incident is one of the few where Riyadh and Tehran are fighting for political, and economic control of the entire Middle East region.
The Saudi kingdom also participates in an international alliance against the Islamic State group. According to Sipri, the nation set aside $ 69,413m equivalent to 10 percent of its gross domestic product.
1. Oman
Located in the strategic area of the Hormuz River, one of the most important areas through which oil ships pass and with neighbors such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, the Kingdom of Oman has increased its military spending over the past several decades.
The fact is that it is the only nation in the world that spends most of its money on its defense unit. In 2017, the nation allocated $ 8,686m equivalent to 12% of its gross domestic product.
