"Other regional powers — particularly India, Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Israel, Brazil, South Korea, Algeria and the UK — also made substantial
contributions to the total increase," the 2009 Yearbook on
Armaments, Disarmament and International Security said.
SIPRI said military spending in the Middle East fell slightly in 2008.
The report said this was temporary as many countries in the region were
planning major arms purchases.
"In contrast, there was a large rise in Iraq, whose 2008 military budget
was 133 percent higher in real terms than its 2007 spending," the report
said. "While previously most funding for the Iraqi security forces came from
the United States, this has been increasingly replaced by domestic funding.
Iraq remains highly dependent on the USA for arms supplies, with numerous
major orders planned."
Boeing has been deemed the leading weapons producer in 2007, with sales
worth $30.5 billion. SIPRI said data from 2007 was deemed the most reliable
for the study.
"The idea of the 'war on terror' has encouraged many countries to see
their problems through a highly militarized lens, using this to justify high
military spending," Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the Military Expenditure
Project at SIPRI, said.
