SIPRI: Russia Spends A Record Percentage Of GDP On Defense

• 27.04.2026, 17:39

The costs of purchasing weapons will only continue to rise.

In 2025, the share of government spending on defense has reached the highest level ever recorded in both Russia and Ukraine. This was stated by analysts of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), reports UNIAN.

So, Russia's military spending last year increased by 5.9% to $190 billion, which is 7.5% of GDP. Ukraine, which ranked seventh in the world in terms of defense spending in 2025, increased its spending by 20% - up to $84.1 billion, or 40% of GDP.

Ukraine is in first place in the world in terms of the ratio of defense spending to GDP. Experts predict that the amount of arms spending will continue to increase for both Ukraine and Russia in the future.

"Their spending is likely to continue to rise in 2026 if the war lasts, given the increase in Russian oil revenues and the expected large loan from the European Union for Ukraine," said SIPRI analyst Lorenzo Scarazzato.

In comparison, in 2025, NATO's 29 European members spent a total of $559 billion, with only 22 of them having military spending reaching the 2% of GDP mark.

Germany spent the most on defense in this group: its spending rose 24% year-on-year to $114 billion. Germany's military burden exceeded the 2% threshold for the first time since 1990, reaching 2.3% of GDP in 2025.

Spain's military spending skyrocketed by 50% to $40.2 billion, which also caused its military burden to exceed 2% of GDP for the first time since 1994.

Among Asian countries, Japan's military spending rose by 9.7% to reach $62.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 1.4% of GDP - the highest share since 1958. Taiwan's military spending rose 14% to $18.2 billion (2.1% of GDP), the largest annual increase since at least 1988.