UN Report Warns $2.7 Trillion Global Military Spending Threatens Sustainable Development

New York: The United Nations has released a landmark report titled “the security we need: rebalancing military spending for a sustainable and peaceful future,” highlighting the escalating global military expenditure and its impact on peace, security, and sustainable development. 

According to the report, global military spending reached a staggering $2.7 trillion in 2024, representing a more than 9 percent increase from the previous year, the steepest rise since the Cold War and the tenth consecutive year of growth. If current trends continue, global military spending could reach $4.7 trillion to $6.6 trillion by 2035, nearly five times the levels at the end of the Cold War and more than double the 2024 figure. 

UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that such spending undermines global security rather than safeguarding it. He stated, “a more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars,” emphasizing that reallocating even a fraction of military budgets could dramatically improve education, healthcare, and infrastructure worldwide.

The report notes that just $93 billion annually, less than 4 percent of global military spending, could end global hunger, while around 10 percent could fully vaccinate every child.

Izumi Nakamitsu, UN high representative for disarmament, highlighted the need for a human-centered approach to security, saying, “rebalancing global priorities is not optional, but an imperative for humanity’s survival. We need a new vision of security that is human-centric. The military alone is not going to produce security, transparency and dialogue are also important.”

She added, “for a while we are saying that all the nuclear states are in a qualitative arms race. We need to reverse the trends. we will have important landmark meetings regarding nuclear arm race.” Nakamitsu further emphasized that the report recognizes legitimate security concerns and is not targeting any single country or region.

Xu Haoliang, Acting UNDP Administrator, underlined the imbalance between defense and development spending. “Military spending was 13 times more than development spending in 2024. A people-centered approach, prioritizing diplomacy, is essential,” he said.

He added that investing in education, healthcare, and economic opportunity strengthens peaceful and resilient societies, noting that development is a driver of security. The report stresses that escalating military budgets divert critical resources from the sustainable development goals (SDGs), including efforts to end poverty, improve healthcare, expand education, and promote renewable energy.  

While global military spending is rising across all regions due to conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and perceived security threats, the report argues that true security requires a multidimensional approach prioritizing diplomacy, cooperation, sustainable development, and disarmament over arms build-ups.

The briefing highlighted the urgent need to rebalance world priorities. The UN calls for redirecting even a small portion of defense budgets toward human development, arguing that such investments would yield far greater returns for long-term global security than continued militarization.

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