How Algeria is ruining itself in useless military spending

Around $18.3 billion: this is the record amount Algeria will spend in 2023 on weapons and military equipment, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). This is according to Young Africa which includes the document’s highlights, a 76% increase over 2022.the highest level of consumption ever recorded in Algeria and the largest annual increase in consumption since 1974», we can read in the document published this Monday, April 22.

The epidemic, which the Swedish institute explains by the sudden increase in income from gas exports to European countries, which turned away from Russian supplies, and which takes place in the international context of an arms race. There are other factors as well. “This dizzying increase in Algerian military spending is mainly connected with renewed tensions in the Maghreb, with the interruption of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria, and the issue of the Sahara in complete deadlock at the UN. Algeria, which continues to reject the round table process and assures that it is not a party to the conflict between Rabat and the Polisario, is at the same time excessive on the side of weapons and the introduction of mechanics», commented the analyst quoted by the magazine.

Global military spending has seen its biggest increase in a decade, reaching more than $2.4 trillion in 2023 due to numerous ongoing conflicts, with notable increases in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Across the continent, this spending reached $51.6 billion in 2023, a 22% increase over 2022. Nigeria, South Sudan and the DRC are among the top spenders.

For Young Africa, the Algerian approach contrasts with what is being done at the time on the Moroccan side, where military spending has been cut by 2.5% in 2023, to $5.2 billion. “What must be remembered is not so much the decline, which is relative, as the fact that Morocco has decided to manage its spending sensibly: targeted purchases of state-of-the-art equipment to continue modernizing its fighter jets, refurbishing helicopters and acquiring advanced equipment such as drones. But also work on strengthening anti-aircraft coverage for territorial defense», estimates a Moroccan military analyst quoted by Jeune Afrique.