An eleventh consecutive year of increase. Global military spending reached $2.887 trillion in 2025, an increase of 2.9% compared to 2024. The top three spenders on armaments – the United States, China, and Russia – collectively spent $1.48 trillion, accounting for 51% of the total global spending, according to new data released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Countries responded to another year of wars, uncertainties, and geopolitical upheavals with large-scale armament programs, according to Xiao Liang, a researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production program, who believes that “this increase is expected to continue until 2026 and beyond.” Here are the key points from this report.
Drop in the United States Expected to Be Short-lived
Despite the global increase, military spending in the United States decreased by 7.5% in 2025 to $954 billion, remaining at a very high level. This drop was primarily due to the lack of new military financial aid to Ukraine approved during the year, as explained by SIPRI. This decline is expected to be short-lived, with approved expenditures by the U.S. Congress for 2026 exceeding $1 trillion, a substantial increase from 2025, and could reach $1.5 trillion in 2027 if President Trump’s latest budget proposal is adopted.
14% Increase in Europe
In 2025, the main contributor to the rise in global military spending was the 14% increase in Europe, reaching $864 billion. Russia’s spending (+5.9% to $190 billion) and Ukraine’s spending (+20% to $84.1 billion) continued to increase in this fourth year of war. The ongoing rearmament efforts of the 29 European NATO member states also played a significant role in this increase, as they collectively spent $559 billion in 2025, with 22 of them allocating at least 2% of their GDP to military expenditures, according to SIPRI’s methodology. Germany led the pack with a 24% increase in spending, reaching $114 billion. France’s spending also increased by 1.5%, reaching $68 billion.
Stability in the Middle East
Military spending in the Middle East reached an estimated $218 billion, just 0.1% higher than in 2024. Israel’s military expenditures decreased by 4.9% to $48.3 billion (still 97% higher than in 2022). Iran’s spending officially decreased for the second consecutive year, dropping by 5.6% to $7.4 billion in 2025. However, this figure may underestimate the actual level of Iranian spending, as Iran also uses off-budget oil revenues to fund its military, particularly in missile and drone production.
Asia-Pacific Records Fastest Growth Since 2009
Military spending in the Asia-Pacific region reached $681 billion in 2025, an 8.1% increase – the highest annual increase since 2009. China, the world’s second-largest spender, increased its military spending by 7.4% to $336 billion, marking the 31st consecutive annual increase as part of its military modernization program. Taiwan’s military spending also rose by 14% to $18.2 billion (2.1% of GDP), the largest annual increase since at least 1988.
(Note: All data and quotes are sourced from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report on global military spending trends in 2025.)
