Europe Has Become The Main Driver Of Global Military Spending Growth
- 27.04.2026, 10:12
A record increase for the year.
The main factor in the global growth of military spending in 2025 was the increase in spending in Europe by 14% - up to $864 billion.
According to "European Pravda", this is evidenced by data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
According to SIPRI, in 2025, 29 European members of NATO spent a total of $559 billion dollars, and in 22 of them military spending amounted to at least 2% of GDP. Germany spent the most on defense in this group, with its spending rising 24% year-on-year to $114 billion.
Germany's military spending surpassed the 2% threshold for the first time since 1990, reaching 2.3% of GDP in 2025.
Spain's military spending rose 50% to $40.2 billion, also causing its military burden to exceed 2% of GDP for the first time since 1994.
Ukraine, ranked seventh in military spending in 2025, increased spending by 20% to $84.1 billion dollars, which is 40% of GDP.
Britain's military spending decreased by 2% between 2024 and 2025 to $89 billion, while France's military spending increased by 1.5% to $68 billion.
"In 2025, military spending by NATO's European members grew faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting Europe's ongoing quest for self-sufficiency along with increasing pressure from the United States for greater burden sharing within the Alliance," said Jade Guiberto Rickard, a researcher with SIPRI's Military Spending and Arms Production Program.
"As nations strive to meet the new NATO spending targets agreed for 2025, there is a risk that the lines between military and other 'defense and security-related' spending will become blurred, reducing transparency and making it even more difficult to assess military capabilities," the researcher added.
According to SIPRI, global arms spending has continued to rise for 11 consecutive years, with the United States, China and Russia allocating the most among all countries in the world. In 2025, global military spending rose by 2.9 percent to $2.89 trillion.
SIPRI data also shows that Germany has significantly increased its arms exports, surpassing China and ranking fourth in the world.