Global cost of war reaches $14 trillion

Global Peace Index shows wars wreaking havoc on economies as world spends more than 13% of GDP on costs related to violence The worlds steady shift away from peace and into conflict inflicted a $14.3tn cost on the global economy last year, as nations ramped up military spending and more people were driven from their jobs, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI).

The report from the Australia-based group found that the cost of war and conflict is equal to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. The global cost of conflict has increased by 15.3 percent since 2008, when the economic impact was $12.4 trillion.

The report also indicated how those killed in conflicts had risen more than 350 per cent so far this decade, from 49,000 in 2010 to 180,000 in 2014. This occurred amid a 61% increase in terror-related deaths in 2013 with 18,000 people killed. Most of these occurred in just five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.