Global military spending rise continues as European and Asian expenditures surge
Baku, April 28, AZERTAC
World military expenditure reached $2887 billion in 2025, an increase of 2.9 per cent in real terms over 2024, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Military spending declined in the United States but rose by 14 per cent in Europe and by 8.1 per cent in Asia and Oceania. The top three military spenders—the USA, China and Russia—spent a combined total of $1480 billion, or 51 per cent of the global total, according to new data published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Global military expenditure increased to $2887 billion in 2025, the 11th year of consecutive rises, bringing the global military burden—military expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)—to 2.5 per cent, its highest level since 2009. At 2.9 per cent, the annual spending increase was significantly smaller than the 9.7 per cent increase recorded in 2024. However, this slowdown is largely accounted for by a drop in US military spending. Outside the USA, total spending grew by 9.2 per cent in 2025.
‘Global military spending rose again in 2025 as states responded to another year of wars, uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval with large-scale armament drives,’ said Xiao Liang, Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘Given the range of current crises, as well as many states’ long-term military spending targets, this growth will probably continue through 2026 and beyond.’
The 29 European NATO members spent a combined total of $559 billion in 2025, and 22 of them had military spending of at least 2.0 per cent of GDP, according to SIPRI’s methodology. Germany was the largest military spender in the group, with its expenditure growing by 24 per cent year-on-year to $114 billion. Germany’s military burden exceeded the 2.0 per cent threshold for the first time since 1990, reaching 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2025. Military spending by Spain increased by 50 per cent to $40.2 billion, also bringing its military burden above 2.0 per cent of GDP for the first time since 1994.
‘In 2025 military spending by European NATO members rose faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance alongside increasing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden sharing within the alliance,’ said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘As states strive to meet the new NATO spending targets agreed in 2025, there is a risk that the boundaries between military and other “defence- and security-related” expenditures become blurred, reducing transparency and further complicating the assessment of military capabilities.’
Spending in Middle East stable despite ongoing conflicts and regional rivalries
Military expenditure in the Middle East reached an estimated $218 billion in 2025, just 0.1 per cent higher than in 2024. Besides Israel, most of the other major spenders in the region for which data is available increased their spending.
The military expenditure of Israel decreased by 4.9 per cent to $48.3 billion, reflecting a reduction in the intensity of the war in Gaza during 2025 after the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in January 2025. Nevertheless, Israel’s spending remained 97 per cent higher than in 2022. Military spending by Türkiye grew by 7.2 per cent in 2025 to $30.0 billion, partly driven by its ongoing military operations in Iraq, Somalia and Syria.
Spending by Iran declined for the second consecutive year, falling by 5.6 per cent to $7.4 billion in 2025. The real-terms decrease was due to high annual inflation of 42 per cent, and spending increased in nominal terms.
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