STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Global weapons spending rose 6 percent last year, but a growing consensus on the need for arms control offered hope for disarmament, a Swedish think tank said Monday.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said nations spent $1.3 trillion on weapons in 2007. It attributed the rise partly to a strong global economy, which allowed countries to spend more on arms.
The institute’s report said the United States spent $547 billion on weapons, an increase of 3.4 percent over 2006 and 45 percent of the global total. Britain was next, with $59.7 billion, followed by China, which pushed past France into third place with $58.3 billion, the report said.
Regionally, eastern Europe increased military expenditure the most, mainly because of high spending by Russia, which used $35.4 billion on weaponry, up from $34.7 billion.
