Africa once again saw the largest year-on-year increase in military expenditure of any region in 2014, totaling $42.7 billion (6.2 percent) and thus highlighting the African defense market's ongoing potential. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI's) projections, military budgets on the continent increased by 91 percent between 2005 and 2014. During the same period, SIPRI also notes that African arms imports increased by 45 percent. It is also significant that Africa remains on this increased spending spree during a time when overall global military spending has been decreasing. According to SIPRI, 2014 marked the third consecutive year that total global defense spending declined. Although African nations' military expenditure may seem impressive, it is only a reflection of the stabilizing economic growth that in turn provides for increased defense spending. An examination of the actual defense budget figures indicates that the numbers are not so remarkable in comparison to the rest of the world. For example, the global slowdown in arms sales between 2013 and 2014 only reflected a 0.4 percent decrease in real terms. The decreases during the previous two years have also been comparatively small; world military expenditure is still only 1.7 percent below its 2011 peak.
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