Russia's Neighbors see an Uptick in Military Spending

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has led to increased military spending not only in the two countries themselves but also in other neighboring countries.

This chart, using inflation-adjusted data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, shows that Russia has increased its military spending to support the invasion, while Ukraine has expanded its budget tenfold to defend itself.

The war has also motivated several of Russia’s other neighbors to increase their military spending. For instance, in 2023, Poland almost doubled its military spending from 15 to 27 billion US$, and Finland raised its budget from 4.5 to 6.9 billion US$. Other neighboring countries, like Lithuania and Estonia, have so far not made increases as dramatic but have returned to the longer-term expansion of their military budgets. Some Western European countries, especially Denmark, have also already increased their military spending after Russia’s invasion.