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Military budget of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The military budget of Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان کا فوجی بجٹ) is a part of the federal discretionary budget, allocated to the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Defence Production.[1] The budget covers the salaries, training, and healthcare of both uniformed and civilian personnel, maintains military arms, equipment, and facilities, supports operations, and funds the acquisition and development of new arms and equipment.[2][3]

As of 2024, Pakistan’s defense budget is 1.7 percent of its GDP.[4] This represents a decrease compared to previous years, with the defense spending in 2022-23 being around 2% of the country’s GDP.[5] Despite facing economic challenges, Pakistan continues to allocate a substantial portion of its budget to defense.[6]

Military budgets

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Pakistan's defence expenditure has seen fluctuations over the years.[7][4] The military budget of Pakistan as the percentage of total budget from 1971 to 2022 is given below:[3][8]

Defence Expenditure Data
Year Defence Expenditure
(in million)
Percentage of Total Expenditure
1970-71 3,201.5 55.66
1971-72 3,725.5 59.09
1972-73 4,439.6 59.34
1973-74 4,948.6 42.20
1974-75 6,914.2 42.83
1975-76 8,103.4 25.10
1976-77 8,102.6 23.10
1977-78 9,674.5 23.7
1978-79 10,302.0 21.0
1979-80 12,654.8 23.2
1980-81 15,300.1 23.2
1981-82 18,631.0 24.5
1982-83 23,224.0 26.7
1983-84 26,798.0 26.8
1984-85 31,866.0 27.3
1985-86 35,606.0 26.5
1986-87 41,335.0 27.1
1987-88 47,015.0 26.1
1988-89 51,053.0 25.4
1989-90 58,708.0 26.5
1990-91 64,623.0 24.8
1991-92 75,751.0 23.6
1992-93 87,441.0 25.0
1993-94 91,776.0 25.2
1994-95 100,221.0 23.4
1995-96 115,252.0 23.3
1996-97 131,400.0 26.26
1997-98 133,834.0 26.2
1998-99 145,000.0 26.1
1999-2000 142,000.0 22.0
2000-2001 163,000.00 24.0
2001-2002 189,000.00 22.6
2002-2003 202,000.00 45.4
2003-2004 228,000.00 26.1
2004-2005 253,000.00 24.5
2005-2006 293,000.00 21.4
2006-2007 306,000.00 18.0
2007-2008 343,000.00 16.1
2008-2009 393,000.00 16.9
2009-2010 469,000.00 16.8
2010-2011 549,000.00 17.0
2011-2012 652,000.00 16.1
2012-2013 744,974.00 15.9
2013-2014 811,104.00 17.3
2014-2015 943,288.00 18.0
2015-2016 1,010,647.00 18.1
2016-2017 1,086,228.00 17.6
2017-2018 1,306,085.00 18.8
2018-2019 1,505,362.00 18.4
2019-2020 1,565,642.00 17.2
2020-2021 1,749,521.00 18.4
2021-2022 2,035,325.00 15.9
2022-2023 2,199,892.00 14.5
Note: The fiscal year in Pakistan was from April to March in 1957, shifted to April to June in 1958, and has been from July to June since 1959 onwards.

Criticism

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The high defense spending has sparked debates about its impact on Pakistan’s socio-economic growth.[3] Critics argue that the military budget takes a significant portion of the federal budget and results in economic inequality in Pakistan.[9][10][11]

The transparency of Pakistan's military expenditure has been criticized. Major acquisitions by the armed forces, expenditure on the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), expenditure on the nuclear program and para-military forces, payment of military pensions, and a few other military expenditures do not appear in the budget.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rehman, Abdul; Ma, Hengyun; Alvarado, Rafael; Ahmad, Fayyaz (June 1, 2023). "The nexus of military, final consumption expenditures, total reserves, and economic development of Pakistan". Economic Change and Restructuring. 56 (3): 1753–1776. doi:10.1007/s10644-023-09490-z – via Springer Link.
  2. ^ Siddiqui, Taha. "Poor Nation, Rich Army".
  3. ^ a b c "Pakistan's Military Spending: Socio-Economic Dimensions". ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu.
  4. ^ a b "Unveiling the lowest defence budget 2023-24 in decades". www.thenews.com.pk.
  5. ^ "World Bank Open Data". World Bank Open Data.
  6. ^ "Despite $125 billion debt, why is Pakistan increasing its defence budget to 18000 crore rupees". The Economic Times. May 13, 2024.
  7. ^ "Defence budget at lowest level". June 28, 2023.
  8. ^ https://milex.sipri.org/sipri
  9. ^ a b Siddiqa, Ayesha. "Why is Pakistan spending so much money on defence amid COVID-19?". Al Jazeera.
  10. ^ "Does Military Spending Impede Income Inequality? A Comparative Study of Pakistan and India - Arshian Sharif, Sahar Afshan, 2018". doi:10.1177/0972150917713523.
  11. ^ Raza, Syed Ali; Shahbaz, Muhammad; Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy (April 1, 2017). "Dynamics of Military Expenditure and Income Inequality in Pakistan". Social Indicators Research. 131 (3): 1035–1055. doi:10.1007/s11205-016-1284-7 – via Springer Link.