World spent $2.7 trillion on war in 2024: UN Chief

New Delhi, Sep 12: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that record global military spending is overshadowing peace and development, as he launched a new report titled “The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future,” early this week.

“We are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar — a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” Guterres told reporters in New York on Sept 9. “I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.” He linked the fresh crisis to wider global trends, saying: “Today’s breaking news underscores the importance of the report that we launch today. It lays bare a stark reality: the world is spending far more on waging war than in building peace.”

According to the report, military expenditures worldwide surged to a record $2.7 trillion in 2024, equal to $334 for every person on Earth. “That is nearly 13 times the amount of official development assistance from the world’s wealthiest nations — and 750 times the regular budget of the United Nations,” Guterres stressed.

He warned that only one in five Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets is currently on track, with the financing gap widening. “Governments have legitimate security responsibilities — protecting civilians, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and addressing immediate threats. But lasting security cannot be achieved by military spending alone,” he said.

Outlining the report’s recommendations, the Secretary-General called for rebalancing global investments, stressing that even a small redirection of military budgets could fund vital needs. “The evidence is clear: excessive military spending does not guarantee peace. It often undermines it — fuelling arms races, deepening mistrust and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability,” he said.

“A more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars,” Guterres concluded.