Defense Spending by Country - Military Budget Tracker
Global military spending reached $2.887 trillion in 2025, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI April 2026 release) - the highest level ever recorded and a 2.9% real-terms increase over the prior year, the eleventh consecutive year of growth. Active conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, accelerating rearmament across NATO and the Indo-Pacific, and sustained great power competition between the United States, China, and Russia are driving budgets higher worldwide.
Defense budgets now consume a larger share of GDP in more countries than at any point since the early 1990s.
Budget data sourced from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI April 2026 release), IISS Military Balance, NATO annual reports, and national defense ministry publications. GDP percentages based on World Bank national accounts data.
Top 15 Military Spenders - 2025 Budget Data
The table below ranks the 15 largest military spenders by total budget. The United States accounts for approximately 33% of all global military expenditure - about a third of the world total, and roughly 2.8 times as much as China, the next-largest spender. SIPRI estimates China's 2025 military spending at $336 billion, after adjusting for categories excluded from the official figure such as military research and development and paramilitary forces.
Russia's military expenditure rose 5.9% in real terms to an estimated $190 billion, a military burden of 7.5% of GDP. Germany rose to fourth place globally at $114 billion, up 24% in real terms, with sustained increases pushing its military burden above 2% of GDP for the first time since 1990. Israel's spending declined 4.9% in real terms to $48.3 billion, though at 7.8% of GDP it remains one of the highest military burdens of any major spender.
| # | Country | Budget ($B) | % of GDP | YoY Change | Source |
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Data from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI April 2026 release), IISS Military Balance, and national defense ministry reports. Figures in constant 2024 U.S. dollars where available. China and Russia figures are SIPRI estimates that adjust for unreported categories. Year-over-year change reflects real growth adjusted for inflation.
Why Defense Budgets Are Rising
Military spending is increasing in nearly every region simultaneously - a pattern not observed since the Cold War arms buildup of the 1980s. Four primary factors drive this global trend.
Great Power Competition
The United States, China, and Russia are each expanding military capabilities across multiple domains. SIPRI measured total U.S. military expenditure at $954 billion in 2025, including supplemental appropriations.
China's military modernization program - the largest peacetime buildup since the Cold War, according to IISS - focuses on naval expansion, ballistic missiles, and satellite warfare, with SIPRI estimating spending at $336 billion. Russia has shifted to a wartime economy, with military expenditure rising 5.9% in real terms to an estimated $190 billion, a military burden of 7.5% of GDP.
NATO 2% GDP Target
NATO allies pledged to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense at the 2014 Wales Summit. As of 2025, all 32 NATO members met or exceeded the target - up from just 3 members in 2014, according to NATO's annual report.
Germany's military spending rose 24% in real terms to $114 billion, the world's fourth-largest, with its military burden exceeding 2% of GDP for the first time since 1990. Poland spends 4.48% of GDP on defense, the highest in NATO. European Allies and Canada increased defense spending 20% over 2024, to more than $574 billion, according to NATO.
Middle East Escalation
The Iran-Israel conflict and broader regional instability have driven defense spending across the Middle East. Israel's spending was $48.3 billion in 2025, a 4.9% real-terms decline from its wartime peak, according to SIPRI, though at 7.8% of GDP it has one of the highest military burdens of any major spender, ranking 11th globally.
Saudi Arabia's military spending was an estimated $83.2 billion in 2025, according to SIPRI. Gulf states continue to invest heavily in ballistic missile defense systems, air force modernization, and naval expansion.
Indo-Pacific Buildup
Japan approved a record defense budget for 2026, a 3.9% increase and the fourth year of its multi-year buildup program, having reached the 2% of GDP level in 2025. SIPRI reports Japan's 2025 spending at $62.2 billion, a 9.7% real-terms increase.
South Korea spent $47.8 billion, citing North Korean nuclear and missile programs. Australia committed to the AUKUS submarine program (estimated at AUD 368 billion over 30 years, according to the Australian Department of Defence), while the Philippines increased its military budget to modernize amid South China Sea tensions.
Defense Spending and the Economy
Global Picture
Global military expenditure as a share of world GDP stood at 2.5% in 2025, according to the SIPRI April 2026 release, up from 2.1% in 2019. The economic effects of defense spending remain debated among economists.
The International Monetary Fund's research division has published multiple working papers showing that defense spending generates economic activity through employment, technology development, and industrial production, but also diverts resources from education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Countries spending well above 4% of GDP on defense - including Russia, Israel, and Ukraine - face measurable crowding-out effects on civilian investment, according to World Bank analysis.
Defense industry employment generates secondary economic activity through supply chains. The global defense industry employs an estimated 15 million people directly, with an additional 30-40 million in supplier industries, according to SIPRI and IISS estimates.
Arms exports - led by the United States (40% market share), France (11%), and Russia (declining from 16% to under 10% due to sanctions and wartime domestic demand) - generate significant trade revenue. The top arms-exporting countries earn a combined $120+ billion annually from defense trade, per the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database.
United States
SIPRI measured total U.S. military expenditure at $954 billion in 2025, a figure that includes supplemental wartime and security assistance appropriations. The defense industrial base directly employs approximately 1.1 million civilians and supports 2.8 million private sector jobs across all 50 states, according to the DoD's annual industrial base report.
Major defense contractors - Lockheed Martin, RTX (Raytheon), Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, and General Dynamics - reported combined revenue of $187 billion in 2024.
U.S. defense spending declined 7.5% in real terms in 2025 from its prior-year wartime peak, according to SIPRI, though it remains by far the world's largest, exceeding the next several spenders combined.
Key investment areas include: the B-21 Raider stealth bomber program ($25+ billion total), the Sentinel ICBM replacement ($96 billion lifecycle cost, according to GAO), Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines ($128 billion total program), and hypersonic weapons development ($5.5 billion in FY2024 alone). The Congressional Budget Office projects the 10-year cost of nuclear modernization at $756 billion (2023-2032).
Regional Trends
European defense spending is growing faster than at any point since the Cold War. The IISS reports that European NATO members increased defense spending by an average of 11% in 2024.
Poland's defense budget rose to an estimated $46.8 billion (4.48% of GDP, the highest in NATO), with orders for 1,000 K2 tanks from South Korea, 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters, and the SHIELD integrated air defense system. The Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - each spend between 3.4% and 4.0% of GDP on defense, among the highest in NATO.
In Asia, the combined defense budgets of Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, and Taiwan exceed $270 billion - approaching China's estimated actual spending. Japan's National Defense Strategy (published December 2022 by the Japanese Ministry of Defense) marked the most significant shift in its defense posture since 1945, including procurement of long-range counterstrike missiles and doubled cyber defense personnel.
India's $86.1 billion defense budget supports the world's largest standing army (1.45 million active personnel) while modernizing aging Soviet-era equipment through domestic programs like the Tejas fighter jet and INS Vikrant aircraft carrier.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which country spends the most on its military?
The United States spends more on defense than any other country - $954 billion in 2025, according to the SIPRI April 2026 release. This figure represents approximately 33% of all global military spending, roughly 2.8 times as much as China, the next-largest spender. The SIPRI total includes supplemental wartime and security assistance appropriations alongside the base Department of Defense budget.
What is the NATO 2% GDP defense spending target?
At the 2014 Wales Summit, NATO member states agreed to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. In 2025, all 32 NATO members met or exceeded this target for the first time, according to NATO. Poland leads NATO at 4.48% of GDP, followed by Lithuania (4.00%), Latvia (3.73%), Estonia (3.38%), and the United States (3.22%), with Greece at 2.85%. Germany, the largest European economy, reached the 2% level, with its military burden continuing to rise.
How much does the United States spend on defense?
SIPRI measured total U.S. military expenditure at $954 billion in 2025. This includes military personnel, operations, procurement, research and development, construction, and supplemental wartime and security assistance appropriations. Additional defense-related spending - including the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons programs and Veterans Affairs - pushes the broader national security total even higher.
How does defense spending affect the economy?
Defense spending generates economic activity through employment (the U.S. defense sector supports approximately 3.9 million jobs, per the DoD), technology development (GPS, the internet, and jet engines all originated from military R&D), and industrial production. However, IMF research indicates that defense spending above 3-4% of GDP tends to crowd out civilian investment and reduce long-term economic growth. The effect varies by country - large economies with diversified defense industries (U.S., France, UK) capture more domestic economic benefit than countries that primarily import military equipment.
How often is defense spending data updated?
SIPRI publishes its Military Expenditure Database annually, typically in April - the most recent release (SIPRI April 2026 release) covers 2025 actuals. NATO releases alliance spending data twice per year (in March and June). Individual country budgets are published on national legislative cycles - the U.S. federal budget is released in February, with final appropriations typically passed by October. This page is updated when new data becomes available from any primary source, and the table reflects the most recent confirmed figures from each country.