Europe boosts military spending by 14%, driving global increase – SIPRI

Global military spending reached US$2.89 trillion in 2025, with the key driver being a 14% increase in defence expenditure in Europe to US$864 billion.

Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as reported by European Pravda

Details: SIPRI reports that in 2025, 29 European NATO members spent a combined US$559 billion, with 22 of them allocating at least 2% of GDP to defence. Germany recorded the highest spending in this group, with expenditure rising by 24% compared to the previous year to US$114 billion.

Germany's military spending exceeded the 2% threshold for the first time since 1990, reaching 2.3% of GDP in 2025.

Spain's military expenditure rose by 50% to US$40.2 billion, also surpassing the 2% of GDP benchmark for the first time since 1994.

Ukraine ranked seventh globally in 2025 by military spending, increasing its expenditure by 20% to US$84.1 billion, equivalent to 40% of GDP.

Between 2024 and 2025, the United Kingdom's military spending decreased by 2% to US$89 billion, while France's rose by 1.5% to US$68 billion.

"In 2025 military spending by European NATO members rose faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance alongside increasing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden sharing within the alliance," said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.

"As states strive to meet the new NATO spending targets agreed in 2025, there is a risk that the boundaries between military and other 'defence- and security-related' expenditures become blurred, reducing transparency and further complicating the assessment of military capabilities," she added.

SIPRI data also show that global arms spending has been rising for 11 consecutive years, with the United States, China and Russia allocating the largest sums worldwide. In 2025, global military expenditure increased by 2.9% to US$2.89 trillion.

SIPRI data also indicate that Germany has significantly increased its arms exports, overtaking China to become the fourth-largest exporter of weapons in the world.

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