A trend is emerging in global military spending where it is falling in the West – meaning North America, Western and Central Europe and Oceania – and climbing everywhere else.

According to new SIPRI data, global military expenditure fell by 1.9 per cent in 2013, marking the second year-on-year decline. However, the figures are distinctly affected by the falling budgets in the West, and particularly the US.

In fact, by excluding the US from the data, global defence spending increased 1.8 per cent, even with the spend declining in other military heavyweights such as the UK and France.

Military spending in countries such as China and Russia, as well as in the regions of Africa and the Middle East, has boomed over the last decade with SIPRI identifying 23 countries that have at least doubled their expenditure since 2004.

All are located in emerging defence markets and there’s a strong correlation with high revenue generation from oil and gas exports between the countries as well as experiencing armed conflict over the period.

The 23 countries are listed below, with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan seeing the most significant increases in defence spending, where it has at least quintupled.

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