Military spending around the world reached a new all-time high in 2025 to mark an 11th consecutive year of growth, a report by a conflict ‌think-tank showed on Monday, as insecurity and rearmament fueled defense budgets.

Expenditure rose by 2.9% compared with 2024 to nearly $2.9 trillion, despite a reduction by the U.S., the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

The 2025 total brought the increase over the past decade to 41% and took spending as a share of global gross domestic product (GDP) ​to 2.5% – its highest level since 2009.

"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," SIPRI said in ​the report.

The top three military spenders, the U.S., China and Russia, accounted for a combined $1.48 trillion, or 51% of global spending.

The U.S. remained by far the top spender last year despite a 7.5% decline to $954 billion. That was mainly because no new financial military assistance for Ukraine was approved, ​the report said. In the previous three years, U.S. military funding to Ukraine totaled $127 ‌billion.

"The ⁠decline in U.S. military expenditure in 2025 is likely to be short-lived," SIPRI said.

"Spending approved by the U.S. Congress for 2026 has risen to over $1 trillion, a substantial increase from 2025, and could rise further to $1.5 ​trillion in 2027," ​it said.

Researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said the decrease from the U.S. 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.

"Everything points to a world that feels less secure and is spending on its military to compensate for the global landscape," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Europe main driver

The main ⁠contributor to higher global spending was a 14% rise in Europe to $864 billion.

Concerns over the reliability of the U.S. as a NATO partner contributed to higher budgets, SIPRI expert Diego Lopes da Silva said, as governments sought to bolster security amid a deteriorating international environment.

"That is driven by two major factors. One is the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the other is the decreased U.S. engagement with Europe," Scarazzato said.

He explained that the U.S. is "pushing for Europe to take more care of its own defense."

Spending by Russia and Ukraine ​continued to grow in the fourth year of the ​war, while ⁠increases by European members of the NATO alliance led to the sharpest annual growth in Central and Western Europe since the end of the ⁠Cold War.

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

For the first time since 1990, German defense outlays exceeded the NATO target of 2% of GDP.

Spain also recorded a 50% jump to $40.2 billion, pushing military spending above 2% of GDP for the first time since 1994.

In total, 22 European NATO members met the benchmark.

Their combined spending reached $559 billion to rise faster than at any time since 1953, said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

The expenditure of the 32 NATO members amounted to almost $1.6 trillion in 2025, or 55% of spending globally.

France's expenditure rose by 1.5% to $68 billion. Spending by the U.K. decreased by 2% to $89 billion.

Russia and Ukraine each record the highest share of government spending allocated to the military.

Russia's spending rose 5.9% to $190 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of GDP.

Ukraine, meanwhile, boosted spending by 20% to $84.1 billion – a staggering 40% of GDP.

Türkiye focuses on domestic industry

Türkiye increased its expenditure by 7.2% from 2024 to $30 billion, SIPRI said, making it the 18th biggest spender in the world.

The figure accounted for 1.9% of Türkiye's GDP, and the growth rate lifted the increase over the past decade to 94%.

The overall increase was mainly driven by the country's continuous investments in its domestic arms industry.

Allocations to the special fund to support the Turkish arms industry rose by 25% year-over-year and accounted for 22% of Türkiye's total expenditure in 2025, SIPRI said.

Türkiye has injected billions of dollars over the past two decades to transform it from a nation heavily reliant on equipment from abroad to one that is a major exporter and where homegrown systems now meet almost all of its defense industry needs.

For much of the past two decades, Ankara has expressed frustration over its Western allies' failure to provide adequate defense systems against missile threats despite Türkiye being a NATO member.

Türkiye's defense exports sealed a record 2025, rising about 48% year-over-year to more than $10 billion. The goal for 2028 is to lift the full-year figure to $11 billion, placing Türkiye among the world's top 10 biggest defense exporters, according to officials.

Middle East tensions

Despite persistent tensions in the Middle East, expenditure in the region rose only marginally, by 0.1%, to $218 billion.

While most countries in the region increased spending, Israel and Iran actually recorded declines.

In Iran, it fell 5.6% to $7.4 billion, but this was mostly due to high annual inflation of 42%. In nominal terms, spending actually rose.

Israel's 4.9% drop to $48.3 billion reflected a reduced intensity in the Gaza war after a January 2025 cease-fire deal, the researchers explained. Israeli spending was still 97% higher than in 2022, they added.

The report showed Saudi Arabia's expenditure increased by 1.4% to reach $83.2 billion, making it the eighth biggest military spender in the world.

In Asia and Oceania, spending reached $681 billion, an 8.5% increase from 2024, the region's largest annual increase since 2009.

Scarazzato said the "major player" in the region was China, which has been increasing its spending every year for the past three decades, and spent an estimated $336 billion in 2025.

"But perhaps what's interesting is the reaction of some other states, such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, reacting to the threat perception," he said.

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

India, the fifth biggest military spender in the world in 2025, increased its military spending by 8.9% to $92.1 billion. Pakistan's spending increased by 11% to $11.9 billion.

Total military spending in Africa increased by 8.5% in 2025 to reach $58.2 billion, SIPRI said.

Nigeria's military expenditure grew by 55% to $2.1 billion in 2025, as insurgencies and extremist violence contributed to worsening insecurity.

The upward trend in global military spending is expected to continue in 2026, SIPRI's da Silva said. He added that there were currently many conflicts worldwide and it was difficult to imagine the situation improving so much within a year that the trend would reverse.

The annual SIPRI report is considered the most comprehensive dataset of its kind. The researchers also include spending on personnel, military aid, as well as military research and development.