Military spending surge signals rising insecurity worldwide, report shows

Global military spending neared $2.9 trillion in 2025, driven by wars and rearmament. The US, China and Russia account for over half, while Europe leads the biggest rise.

Global military spending climbed again in 2025, hitting nearly US$2.9 trillion as insecurity and rearmament pushed more countries toward higher defence budgets.

The figures, released on April 27, point to an 11th straight year of growth. Researchers say the trend is less about short-term politics and more about how governments are reacting to a more volatile world—one where wars, tensions and deterrence thinking increasingly shape public budgets.

Across the world, the United States, China and Russia together spent US$1.48 trillion, just over half of total global expenditure.. Overall spending rose 2.9% compared with 2024, even though the US reduced its outlay.. Researchers framed the continued rise as a pattern: cuts in one place are being offset by increases elsewhere, especially in Europe.

The global “military burden”—the share of worldwide GDP devoted to defence—reached its highest level since 2009.. That metric matters because it captures the economic weight of defence spending, not just the headline dollar figure.. In practical terms, it suggests governments are devoting more of their economies to security and military readiness than at any point in more than a decade.

The United States spent US$954 billion in 2025, which was 7.5% lower than the year before.. The report links much of that decline to a lack of new financial military aid to Ukraine being approved, even though Washington had pledged US$127 billion to Kyiv over the previous three years.. For many observers, the timing of budgets and approvals is often where announcements diverge from operational realities, and the report suggests this US decrease may not last.

Researchers say the decline could be short-lived because US Congress approved over US$1 trillion in spending for 2026, with projections that it could rise further to as much as US$1.5 trillion in 2027 if the US president’s budget proposal moves forward.. That creates a sense of “momentum” in global spending: even where one country pauses, the pipeline of planned support and defence procurement can keep the broader numbers elevated.

Europe was identified as the main driver of the global increase, including Russia and Ukraine.. Spending in that group surged 14% to US$864 billion—an expansion tied to two forces: the ongoing war in Ukraine and what researchers describe as decreased US engagement with Europe.. Germany, the fourth-largest spender, raised its budget by 24% to US$114 billion, while Spain’s military spending jumped 50% to US$40.2 billion.. Spain’s increase pushed spending above 2% of GDP for the first time since 1994, a symbolic threshold many European governments treat as a benchmark for readiness.

The war in Ukraine also stands out in how governments are prioritizing the military within their own budgets.. Russia’s spending rose 5.9% to US$190 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of GDP.. Ukraine boosted spending by 20% to US$84.1 billion—about 40% of GDP—marking how directly the conflict is shaping the structure of state spending.

Elsewhere, the Middle East showed a different pattern.. Despite persistent tensions, expenditure in the region increased only marginally, by 0.1% to US$218 billion.. Israel and Iran recorded declines, though the reasons were not purely strategic.. Iran’s spending fell 5.6% to US$7.4 billion, with the report pointing to high annual inflation of 42%; in nominal terms, spending rose.. Israel’s 4.9% drop to US$48.3 billion is linked to reduced intensity in the Gaza war after a January 2025 ceasefire deal, while still leaving Israeli spending 97% higher than in 2022.

In Asia and Oceania, spending reached US$681 billion, an 8.5% increase from 2024 and the region’s largest annual jump since 2009.. China was described as the “major player,” increasing defence outlays every year for decades and reaching an estimated US$336 billion in 2025.. The report also highlights how threat perception is shifting among other states: Japan increased spending by 9.7% to US$62.2 billion, around 1.4% of GDP and its highest share since 1958, while Taiwan’s spending rose 14% to US$18.2 billion.

All of these changes add up to a clear message: defence budgets are becoming a central policy tool as leaders respond to wars and uncertainty.. For citizens, the practical effect is usually felt indirectly—through slower growth in other areas of public spending, higher procurement expectations, and the long lead times required to sustain equipment, personnel and training.. If the current trajectory continues, the next pressure point will likely be how governments balance the economic cost of “military burden” against competing needs, especially where inflation, debt and domestic priorities are already under strain.