Global military spending hits record $2.9trn amid rising insecurity

Global military spending reached nearly $2.9 trillion in 2025, marking an 11th consecutive year of growth, as insecurity and rearmament fuelled defence budget.

The three top spenders – the United States, China, and Russia – spent a combined total of $1.48 trillion, just over half of global expenditure.

Spending rose by 2.9 per cent compared with 2024, despite a reduction by the US, the world’s biggest spender, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said the decrease from the US was more than offset by increases in Europe and Asia, as the world marked “another year of wars and increased tensions”.

Scarazzato said this was also reflected in the global “military burden” – the share of worldwide GDP devoted to military spending – which reached its highest level since 2009.

“Everything points to a world that feels less secure and is spending on its military to compensate for the global landscape,” he told AFP.

The US spent $954 billion, 7.5 per cent less than in 2024, largely because no new financial military aid to Ukraine was approved.

By contrast, Washinhton pledged a total of $127 billion to Kyiv over the previous three years.

But the decrease is expected to be short-lived as the US Congress has approved spending of over $1 trillion for 2026, which could rise to $1.5 trillion in 2027 if US President Donald Trump’s budget proposal passes.

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The main driver of the global increase was Europe – including Russia and Ukraine – where spending surged 14 per cent to $864 billion.

“That is driven by two major factors. One is the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the other is the decreased US engagement with Europe,” Scarazzato said.

He explained that the US is “pushing for Europe to take more care of its own defence”.

Germany, the fourth-largest spender, raised expenditure by 24 per cent in 2025 to $114 billion.

Spain also recorded a 50 per cent jump to $40.2 billion, pushing military spending above two per cent of GDP for the first time since 1994.

Japan raised military expenditure by 9.7 percent, to $62.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 1.4 per cent of GDP – its highest share since 1958 – while Taiwan increased its spending by 14 per cent to $18.2 billion.