OREANDA-NEWS. Russia's defense spending for 2018, calculated at purchasing power parity (PPP), amounted to $ 159 billion - two and a half times more than the average annual market dollar/ruble exchange rate ($ 61 billion), a Birmingham University researcher, co-director of the Center, estimated in his article Russian, European and Eurasian studies by Richard Connolly (article published in the October issue of CNA Analysis & Solutions). This allows the country to enter the top five states that are leaders in military spending, while Russia’s lagging behind Saudi Arabia ranked fourth is estimated at $ 1 billion.

Connolly’s PPP estimates put China in second place in the world in military spending, but with a much higher figure than is commonly believed — $ 450 billion (against $ 250 billion according to SIPRI). India was in third place - $ 250 billion. In this case, one of the problems of the method is shown in its example: India has a high share of arms imports (unlike Russia), which should be taken into account at the rates typical for countries with higher costs. But as a result of the continuous application of the rupee to the dollar at PPP, the indicator for this country is overvalued.