Almost all Balkan countries reduced their military costs last year, according to the 2010 annual report on global military expenditure published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday (April 11th).

Bulgaria leads the list of cost cutters with a 28% drop from 2009. Other countries with significant downsizing include Albania and Greece, where military expenditures were reduced by more than 10%.

Slight increases were reported in Cyprus and Montenegro.

In Turkey, meanwhile, military costs grew in local currency (the Turkish lira) and in percentage of GDP, but were lower when calculated in US dollars.