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The amount the world spent arms has fallen the first time since 1998. This is according to the annual review the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It said global military spending 2012 fell to $1.75 trillion, a drop half a per cent 2011. That figure is roughly 2.5 per cent the world's GDP, or about $250 for every person Earth. The USA was the biggest spender, although its share fell 40 per cent the first time. The USA and its NATO allies spent one trillion dollars last year their militaries. SIPRI said the decline is largely due to a decrease the amount spent on fighting wars, particularly with military action in Afghanistan winding .

SIPRI noted that while spending is falling in America and Europe, it is the rise elsewhere. SIPRI spokesman Sam Perlo-Freeman said: “We are seeing what may be the beginning a shift the balance of world military spending the rich Western countries to emerging regions." He said budgets China, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa were the rise. China is now the world's second-biggest spender its budget rose 7.8 per cent last year. However, this expenditure does not mean China is second terms world military power. SIPRI said: "China in some respects is still well Europe, even though it now spends as much as Britain, France and Germany combined."