How much was spent globally last year on war and defence
Global military spending reached a record high of $2.89 trillion USD (nearly $2.9 trillion) in 2025, according to the annual report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This represents 2.5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and marks the 11th consecutive year of growth, driven primarily by ongoing wars and escalating geopolitical tensions. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Spending Metrics (2025)
- Global Total: $2.89 trillion USD.
- Per Capita Cost: Approximately $352 USD for every person on Earth.
- Share of Government Budgets: 6.9% of global government expenditures. [6, 7]
Top Spenders
A small group of nations accounts for the vast majority of global defense expenditure, with the top three alone driving over half of all spending: [8, 9, 10]
| Country [11] | 2025 Expenditure | Key Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $954 billion USD | Remained the largest global spender, though outlays fell 7.5% due to a temporary lull in major domestic supplemental packages. |
| China | ~$336 billion USD | Marked its 31st consecutive year of military spending increases. |
| Russia | $190 billion USD | Spent roughly 7.5% of its entire national GDP to sustain its ongoing military operations. |
Regional Trends
- Europe: Surged 14% to $864 billion USD—the fastest expansion for European NATO allies since 1953. Germany crossed the 2% GDP threshold for the first time since 1990.
- Ukraine: Devoted an extraordinary 40% of its total national GDP directly to defense.
- Asia & Middle East: India's budget rose 8.9% to $92.1 billion USD, while Middle Eastern spending grew by a real-term 4.5%. [11, 12, 13, 14]
Alternative tracking by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) used different baseline methodologies to peg 2025 defense spending at $2.63 trillion USD, though both institutions highlighted identical trends of historically high militarisation. [15]
Would you like to break down Australia's specific defense budget ranking, or see how NATO nations compare against their 2% GDP targets?
[12] https://www.iiss.org
[14] https://www.cnn.com
Comments
Give Me $2.89 Trillion and I could abolish famine on Earth.