US State Department: World Military Spending Increased by 46 Percent in Decade

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of State said in a report released on Tuesday that the number of world military expenditures in the last decade has risen by about 46 percent.

"From 2005 through 2015, in constant 2015 US dollar terms, the annual value of world military expenditures appears to have risen about 26-46 percent," the report said.

The amount of military spending increased from about $1.35 trillion in 2005 to about $2.76 trillion in 2015, the report noted.

Wealthy and democratically-governed countries are increasingly relying on the United States to serve as a source of arms, the report pointed out. The practice has contributed to the growth in world arms trade and the increase in US share of world arms exports from 78 percent to 83 percent within the period of slightly over a decade.

The State Department's published report is the 35th edition of World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers covering the period from 2005 to 2015.