In 2018, Morocco's military spending reached $3.5 billion. During the same period, Algeria spent $9.6 billion on defense, revealed SIPRI in a recent report on global military spending. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish institute dedicated to research into armaments, published a new report on military expenditure trends in the world on Monday April 29th. In its report, SIPRI concluded that «world military expenditure is estimated to have been $1822 billion in 2018», stressing that «it was 2.6 per cent higher in real terms than in 2017 and 5.4 per cent higher than in 2009». The defense think-tank revealed that «the five biggest spenders in 2018 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France». These five economies accounted «for 60 per cent of global military spending. Russia was the sixth-largest spender in 2018». Surprisingly, Morocco was not included in the ranking conducted by the Swedish institute to rank the 40 countries that had the highest military expenditure in 2018. Algeria, on the other hand, was ranked 25th by SIPRI, with spendings that reached $9.6 billion. According to SIPRI, Algeria «had by far the highest military spending in Africa». However, «Algeria's military spending has remained the same since 2016, inflation meant that military expenditure fell in real terms by 6.1 per cent between 2017 and 2018». This trend has been observed in several African countries. According to the Swedish institute, «military expenditure in Africa fell by 8.4 per cent in 2018 to an estimated $40.6 billion or 2.2 per cent of global military spending». In North Africa «military spending in totaled $22.2 billion» in 2018. Morocco's military purchases deemed stable between 2013 and 2018 Although Morocco was not featured in SIPRI's «Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2018», an overview on the country's military spending can be found in the institute's database titled «Military expenditure by country, in local currency, 1988-2018». Figures, compiled by SIPRI, reveal that in 2018, the Kingdom spent MAD34696.4 billion on defense, growing by 3.1% compared to 2017, when Moroccan military spendings accounted for MAD33.845 billion. Overall, since 2013, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces' military purchases have remained stable, with an average of more than $3 billion a year. Earlier in March, SIPRI's «Trends in International Arms Transfers» revealed that Morocco is part of the 40 largest importers of major arms in the world in the period between 2014 and 2018. Released on, March the 11th, the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database indicated that the Kingdom is ranked 24th, among these 40 countries known for being the biggest arms importers in the world. Between 2009 and 2013, Morocco imported 2.0% of the total share of arms imports. Between 2014 and 2018, the Kingdom imported 1.2% of the share of arms imports, reached by the 40 countries enlisted by SIPRI. Morocco's trend changes between 2009-13 and 2014-18 account for -35%. Compared to other neighboring countries, arms imports made by Morocco during the two periods are less than the ones made by Algeria. The latter is ranked fifth, among the 40 largest importers of major arms in the world.
