Global Military Spending Reaches All-Time High, Driven by Europe

According to a new study, global military spending has reached an all-time high, with Europe leading the way in the increases.

The new study, conducted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, marks the 11th straight year of growth in military spending as global security concerns ramp up and individual militarization efforts ramp up. The study found global military spending in 2025 to be almost $2.9 trillion– around 2.5% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).

The United States, China, and Russia, as the top three spenders, accounted for more than 51% of global spending– the US alone spent more than $954 billion, which was a 7.5% decline from 2024. China's spending increased by 7.4% to $336 billion, and Russia's military expenditures increased by 5.9% to $190 billion. As a whole, NATO accounted for $1.58 trillion of the world's $2.9 trillion in military spending, making up a whopping 55% of the global total.

NATO also happened to be the largest driver of growth in global spending, particularly in Europe. Over the last year, US President Donald Trump has urged member nations to individually militarize and contribute a larger portion to the organization, as the US accounts for more than 60% of NATO's current expenditures.

In 2025, military spending in Europe exploded by 14%, rising to $864 billion, the highest-ever recorded level for the continent. Among all member nations, Poland had the highest military spending relative to economic size, making up 4.5% of GDP. Ukraine, on the other hand, spent $84.1 billion on military – more than 40% of their GDP – as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues.

Military spending also rose by 8.1% in Asia and Oceania, driven by increases in China (7.4%), Taiwan (14%), and Japan (9.7%). Africa saw an increase by 8.5% as well, but developed African countries like South Africa tend to spend much less on military to avoid the prospect of additional warfare. Algeria (11%) and Morocco (6.6%) drove the increase in spending due to rising tensions between the two– Algeria and Morocco spent $25.4 billion and $6.3 billion, respectively, on military in 2024. Together, they made up over 54% of Africa's total expenditures, which were around $58.4 billion.

As a whole, the world's military spending increased by 2.9% in 2025, which was the lowest increase in years. This reduction in growth was largely driven by the United States, where the Trump administration has refused to provide military aid to Ukraine in their war against Russia. Military aid is classified under total expenditures by the study, meaning that the lack of aid contributed to a significant drop in American military spending.

However, the rest of the globe ramped up military spending by a staggering 9.2% in 2025– a sign of rising global tensions and an increased likelihood of conflict. Also, the US has already approved a military budget of more than $1 trillion for 2026, meaning that the numbers found by year's study are likely to increase even further.

View the full study here.

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Image credit to US Army