December 16, 2015 - 7:05 PM EST
Print Email Article Font Down Font Up
Growing Security Fears Boost Defence Budgets, IHS Says

Europe and Asia Pacific accelerate spending in response to emerging security threats; NATO defence spending to increase for first time since 2010

Security fears and threats to stability have driven many Western governments to end cuts to defence spending, according to a new report released today by IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.

The IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets Annual Report examines and forecasts defence expenditure for 104 countries and captures 99 percent of global defence spend.

Key points from this year’s report:

  • Asia Pacific’s share of global defence spending will rise from one fifth in 2010 to almost one third by 2020. In the same time frame, North America is expected to fall from almost half to around one third of global spending;
  • Growth accelerated in Asia Pacific as states bordering the South China Sea boosted defence spending;
  • Eastern Europe replaced the Middle East as the region with the fastest growing defence budgets, with double-digit increases in response to the Ukraine crisis;
  • Russia saw the largest increase in defence spending for a decade, but cuts will begin next year due to deteriorating economic and fiscal conditions;
  • Low oil prices have seen the unprecedented period of budget increases in the Middle East come to an end, however cuts were limited.

Global trends

Global defence spending is set to increase from $1.65 trillion in 2015 to $1.68 trillion in 2016 as global economic growth accelerates and Western markets respond to heightened security concerns. Globally, 2016 is expected to mark the return to defence budget growth, which is expected to be sustained for the remainder of the decade. NATO defence spending is expected to increase for the first time since 2010.

“This year was another year of flat defence spending but we are now entering a growth period,” said Fenella McGerty, principal analyst at IHS. “Defence strategies have shifted in the West in light of worsening security threats.”

While the US continues to be the largest single player, the Asia Pacific region will be the driving force behind global defence budget growth over the next five years.

Meanwhile, lower oil prices are serving to subdue the Middle East and North Africa regions. “Of the ten fastest growing defence budgets in 2015, just three were in the Middle East, down from six last year,” McGerty said.

In terms of defence investment, $1.6 trillion is expected to be spent on defence procurement from 2016 to 2020, with a further $560 billion due to be invested into research and development.

Asia Pacific spending accelerates as regional tensions rise; China continues to dominate

“Rising tensions in Asia Pacific have seen a long overdue process of military modernization move up the political agenda in a number of countries,” said Craig Caffrey, principal analyst at IHS. “The Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam are all following China’s lead and we see no sign of this trend coming to an end.” By 2020, total regional spending is expected to reach $533 billion annually from $435 billion in 2015.

Chinese defence spending makes up about 40 percent of all defence spending in the Asia Pacific region. Between 2010 and 2015, China’s defence budget increased by around 43 percent in real terms, from roughly $134 billion to $191 billion. Despite a slowdown in China’s economy, the country’s defence budget is expected to grow further to $255 billion by 2020.

Despite a decade of cuts, Japan remains one of the world’s largest spenders, with a defence budget of roughly $49 billion in 2015. Since 2012 increased emphasis on defence under the Abe administration has seen core spending return to growth. However, in reality, core expenditure remains flat and has declined as a share of state spending and GDP.

Regional conflict and modernisation efforts spur growth in Eastern Europe and Baltics

After a turbulent five years, defence spending is set to soar in Eastern Europe as countries move towards spending 2 percent of GDP on defence. “Driven by the crisis in the Ukraine and Poland’s modernisation programme, Eastern Europe is now the fastest growing region globally,” McGerty said. “This position has been held by the Middle East for the last three years.”

Defence spending growth in the region averaged 13 percent in 2015, up from 4 percent in 2014, according to the IHS report. Notably, Ukraine’s defence budget increased by 70 percent in the past year as Kiev responded to unrest in the east of the country. Meanwhile Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Latvia also enacted double-digit real terms increases.

“The regional surge in defence spending is particularly notable in the North-East,” McGerty said. “We saw remarkable growth of 20 percent in the Baltics in 2015 and this is expected to continue in 2016.”

After three years of rapid growth, Middle East spending levels off

Propelled by record energy sector revenues, the Middle East was the fastest growing region globally between 2012 and 2014. But, 2015 saw the first defence budget cuts for a decade as oil prices crashed. “We saw the first marginal cuts in 2015, but, those cuts are now expected to deepen in 2016 as states are forced into pursuing fiscal consolidation with more vigour,” Caffrey said.

Nevertheless, heightened regional security concerns are expected to ensure that defence budgets are protected in relative terms. “As the Gulf States take a more active role in regional security, we will likely see upward pressure on defence budgets in the medium to long term,” Caffrey said. As a result defence spending in the region is expected to be largely flat at $170 billion over the next two years with a major downturn seen as unlikely.

The countries with the fastest growing defence budgets in the region in 2015 were Iran, Tunisia and Israel. Saudi Arabia will still spend the most on defence in the Middle East and North Africa region, with $46 billion in 2015.

Western Europe emerges from five years of cuts

Since 2010, Western European spending has contracted by 1.3 percent on average every year. However, 2016 will be the first year of increased defence spending in Western Europe, as major procurement projects come online and as governments boost spending in response to growing security fears.

“2015 appears to be the year when defence turned a corner in Western Europe,” McGerty said. “There was widespread recognition that cuts need to end and the region needs to respond to an increasingly complex security environment.” As a result of changes implemented this year, an extra €50 billion is expected to be spent on defence over the next five years, the IHS report said.

The UK, France and Germany account for more than 60 percent of regional spending in Europe and have held their places in the top 10 of global spenders in 2015. Notably, Norway and Finland will grow the most in 2016, with 10 percent and 6 percent growth rates, respectively.

Russia reaches peak spending

2015 was the year Russian defence spending peaked after a decade of staggering defence budget growth. The country’s core defence budget has trebled since 2007 in nominal terms, reaching 4.3 percent of GDP this year. Russia’s 2015 defence budget was $54 billion, up from $45 billion in 2014.

“Russian defence spending was starting to look unaffordable even before 2015’s economic and fiscal downturn,” Caffrey said. “Cuts are now unavoidable as Moscow tries to keep its budget deficit in check.” Russia’s defence budget is expected to fall in real terms over the next five years; however spending is still projected to be higher in 2020 than what it was in 2014.

US

The US defence budget declined from $625.0 billion in 2014 to $595.3 billion in 2015. Notably, the US 2015 budget represents 36 percent of the global defence budget, down from 46 percent of the global total in 2010. “However, the US defence budget is still greater than the sum of the next nine countries' defence budgets,” said Guy Eastman, senior analyst at IHS.

About the IHS Jane’s Annual Defence Budgets Report

To learn more about IHS Jane's Defence Budgets visit www.ihs.com/jdb.

The IHS Jane’s Annual Defence Budgets Report is the world’s most comprehensive, forward-looking study of government’s defence budgets. Tracking 99 percent of the global defence expenditure from 104 of the world’s largest defence budgets, data is compiled from IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets online solution platform. It includes five-year forecasts, historical data, budget charting, trend evaluation and in-depth analysis by country. In this study, values are based on constant 2015 US dollars.

Data

Top 15 defence budgets in 2014 and 2015 (in millions US dollars). For the top 20, please contact press@ihs.com. In this study, values are based on constant 2015 US dollars.

                           
        Country    

2014
Defence
Budget
(millions
USD)

      Country    

2015
Defence
Budget
(millions
USD)

1       United States     624,960 United States     595,330
2       China     175,066 China     190,914
3       United Kingdom     66,537 United Kingdom     66,545
4       France     56,708 France     56,467
5       Japan     50,842 Russian Federation     54,127
6       Saudi Arabia     49,649 India     49,654
7       India     47,080 Japan     49,298
8       Russian Federation     44,608 Saudi Arabia     46,277
9       Germany     43,876 Germany     43,797
10       Korea, South     34,247 Korea, South     35,667
11       Australia     32,973 Australia     34,260
12       Brazil     31,295 Brazil     30,667
13       Italy     29,726 Italy     29,011
14       Canada     17,761 Canada     17,142
15       Turkey     16,230 Turkey     15,851
       

Top 10 fastest growing defence budgets. For the top 20, please contact press@ihs.com.

                     
Country    

Growth
in 2014
(percent)

Country    

Growth
in 2015
(percent)

Ukraine     63.05% Ukraine     69.97%
Qatar     25.70% Iran     29.01%
Iran     20.98% Poland     21.97%
Egypt     13.71% Russian Federation     21.34%
Iraq     12.99% Philippines     14.98%
Poland     12.57% Indonesia     12.78%
Algeria     12.47% Israel     9.90%
Australia     11.16% China     9.05%
Saudi Arabia     10.83% Iraq     8.55%
Russian Federation     10.77% Vietnam     7.15%
       

####

About IHS (www.ihs.com)

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 150 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs approximately 8,600 people in 32 countries around the world.

IHS is a registered trademark of IHS Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. © 2015 IHS Inc. All rights reserved.

IHS Inc.
Amanda Russo, +44 208 276 4727
Amanda.Russo@ihs.com
or
Press Team, +1-303-305-8021
press@ihs.com


Source: Business Wire (December 16, 2015 - 7:05 PM EST)

News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com

Legal Notice