STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Military expenditure worldwide rose to nearly US$2 trillion (S$2.6 trillion) in 2020, defying the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers said Monday (April 26).

Global military spending increased by 2.6 per cent to US$1.981 trillion in 2020, when global GDP shrank 4.4 per cent, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).