Military spending in the Middle East has fallen over the past year, despite a string of ongoing conflicts across the region, including those in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
According to data published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) on February 14, total spending across the region fell to $167bn in 2017, down 4% from $174bn the year before. Measured by a number of other metrics, the fall was even faster. Defence spending on a per capita basis was down 5% to $388 while spending as a percentage of the region’s GDP dropped from 5.73% of GDP in 2016 to 5.4% last year.
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WNU Editor: I think it is a combination of not having the money .... and also waiting to see what happens in the coming months in the countries that are engulfed by war. My prediction .... this cut in military budgets is just a blip. The situation in the Middle East is still chaotic .... and it will be for the foreseeable future.
