Morocco modestly increased its military budget in 2024, reversing a two-year downward trend, amid a broader rise in defense spending across North Africa. A new SIPRI report shows the region remains a key driver of Africa's overall military expenditure, despite contrasting trends in sub-Saharan Africa. Morocco's military spending rose by 2.6% in 2024 to reach $5.5 billion, up from $5.2 billion in 2023, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The increase comes after two consecutive years of decline and was largely driven by higher personnel costs, the report noted. SIPRI's annual update, which analyzes global military expenditure trends, shows that Morocco remains one of the two largest military spenders in North Africa, alongside Algeria. Together, the two countries accounted for 90% of the region's total military expenditure in 2024. North Africa's total defense spending reached $30.2 billion in 2024, marking an 8.8% increase from the previous year and a 43% jump compared to 2015. Within this, Algeria remained the continent's top spender, raising its military budget by 12% to $21.8 billion, backed by strong hydrocarbon revenues. Military expenditure made up 21% of Algeria's total government spending. Military spending strends across Africa Across the continent, Africa's total military expenditure stood at $52.1 billion in 2024—a 3% increase from 2023 and 11% higher than in 2015. However, sub-Saharan Africa saw a 3.2% decline, with total spending falling to $21.9 billion. This was mainly due to budget cuts in key countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Meanwhile, countries that have experienced recent coups—such as Mali (2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger (2023)—collectively allocated $2.4 billion to their armed forces in 2024. All three have ended military cooperation with France and have significantly increased their defense budgets since their respective coups. Globally, military spending reached $2,718 billion in 2024, marking the tenth consecutive year of growth and a 37% rise compared to 2015. For the second year in a row, all five global regions recorded increases in military expenditure, reflecting heightened geopolitical tensions worldwide. The Americas made up the largest share of global military expenditure, representing 40% of the total. Europe followed with 26%, then Asia and Oceania with 23%, while the Middle East and Africa accounted for 9% and 1.9% respectively.
