Global military spending surges and reaches record high
Defense News • • world
Key Points:
- Global military spending hit a record $2.9 trillion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth, despite the United States experiencing its largest single-year decline in decades.
- Europe led the growth with a 14% increase to $864 billion, the highest ever recorded for the continent, with notable rises in Germany, Spain, and Poland, all surpassing significant GDP spending thresholds.
- Asia and Oceania also saw a sharp increase of 8.1% to $681 billion, driven by China’s 7.4% rise, Taiwan’s 14% jump amid increased Chinese military activity, and Japan’s highest military burden since 1958.
- Russia and Ukraine continued to escalate their military expenditures amid ongoing conflict, with Ukraine spending 40% of its GDP on defense and Russia allocating 7.5% of its GDP.
- SIPRI warned of potential transparency issues due to NATO’s broadened spending definitions, which may lead to creative accounting, and noted that the U.S. military spending decline in 2025 is likely temporary given approved budgets for 2026 and proposed increases for 2027.
