World military spending rose again in 2025, reaching a record $2.9 trillion (€2.67 trillion), according to new figures from Stockholm-based global armament watchdog SIPRI. This comes as governments responded to war, strategic rivalry and uncertainty, with Europe and Asia leading the push for rearmament.
"Another year of wars, uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval" reflects the trend, according to SIPRI, which warns that military budgets were likely to "keep rising" through 2026 and beyond.
The rise of 2.9 percent in real terms was slower than in 2024, but it still marked the 11th consecutive annual increase and pushed the global military burden to 2.5 percent of GDP, its highest level since 2009.
Europe was the main engine of growth according to SIPRI’s latest report that military expenditure in the region climbed by 14 percent in 2025 to $864 billion (€735 billion), while spending in Asia and Oceania rose by 8.1 percent to $681 billion (€630 billion).
The United States was the exception among the biggest spenders, with military outlays falling by 7.5 percent to $954 billion (€883 billion) after no new financial military aid for Ukraine was approved during the year.
Even so, for 2026 the top three spenders – the United States, China and Russia – accounted for about $1.48 trillion (€1.37 trillion), or 51 percent of the global total.
However, the number will likely change next year, as US President Donald Trump, launching a war against Iran earlier this year, has called for a huge rise in the 2027 US military budget, proposing about $1.5 trillion (€1.2 trillion).
"Everything points to a world that feels less secure and is spending on its military to compensate for the global landscape," researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato told French news agency AFP.
Ukraine, Russia conflict
Scarazzato attributes Europe's spending increase to two major factors: "one is the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the other is the decreased US engagement with Europe."
He says that the US is "pushing for Europe to take more care of its own defence".
Germany, the fourth-largest spender, raised expenditure by 24 percent in 2025 to $114 billion (€97 billion).
Spain also recorded a 50 percent jump to $40.2 billion (€34 billion), pushing military spending above two percent of GDP for the first time since 1994.
Europe confronts fragmented defence systems as pressure to rearm grows
The ongoing war in Ukraine saw both Russia and Ukraine increase their military spending, with each recording the highest share of government spending allocated to the military.
Russia's spending rose 5.9 percent to $190 billion (€161 billion), equivalent to 7.5 percent of GDP.
Ukraine meanwhile boosted spending by 20 percent to $84.1 billion (€71 billion) – a staggering 40 percent of GDP.
SIPRI says the 29 European NATO members spent a combined $559 billion (€476 billion) in 2025, with 22 nations allocating at least 2 per cent of GDP to defence.
France eyes 'readiness'
France sits squarely inside this wider rearmament wave, with the French Senate unveiling an updated military planning law in April.
This adds another €36 billion to defence spending between 2024 and 2030, taking annual spending to €76.3 billion by 2030, or 2.5 percent of GDP.
France moves to boost military budget, arms stockpiles in face of Russian threat
For 2026, the French defence budget is set at €57.1 billion, up by €6.7 billion from 2025, with the government placing particular emphasis on ammunition stocks, missiles and other equipment needed for high-intensity conflict.
The French government says the priority is not expansion for its own sake but "readiness".
Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin told French daily Le Monde that the armed forces must be able to respond to a major engagement "within a timeframe that none of us can predict", as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East expose gaps in European stockpiles.
France remains world's second largest arms exporter behind US
The revised plan keeps troop numbers broadly stable, but directs more money towards weapons, shells and air defence, including an additional €8.5 billion for ammunition by 2030.
The French spending push is also shaping domestic politics. Politico reported that the French far-right – currently leading in opinion polls on French presidential elections in 2027 – wants more defence spending, but on a different basis from the government’s European-minded strategy: less emphasis on joint European defence, more focus on national sovereignty, domestic production and France’s own arsenal.
According to the report, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) has criticised participation in European defence programmes and prefers a narrower, "French-first" approach to military investment.
This is in contrast to French President Emmanuel Macron's government and its push for "strategic autonomy" on a European level and interoperability with allies.
(with newswires)
