Global military spending rises 2.9% despite US decline over Ukraine freeze

Global military spending rose 2.9% in 2025 despite a 7.5% decline in the United States as President Donald Trump halted new financial military aid to Ukraine, a report by a conflict think-tank showed on Monday.

Expenditure increased to $2.89 trillion in 2025, rising for the 11th consecutive year and taking spending as a share of global gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.5% - its highest level since 2009, according to the data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

"Given the range of current crises, as well as many states' long-term military spending targets, this growth will probably continue through 2026 and beyond," SIPRI said in the report.

The top three military spenders, the US, China and Russia, accounted for a combined $1.48 trillion, or 51% of global spending.

US military spending fell to $954 billion in 2025, mainly because no new financial military assistance for Ukraine was approved, the report said. In the previous three years, US military funding to Ukraine totalled $127 billion.

"The decline in US military expenditure in 2025 is likely to be short-lived," SIPRI said.

"Spending approved by the US Congress for 2026 has risen to over $1 trillion, a substantial increase from 2025, and could rise further to $1.5 trillion in 2027," it said.

The main contributor to higher global spending was a 14% rise in Europe to $864 billion.

Spending by Russia and Ukraine continued to grow in the fourth year of the war, while increases by European members of the NATO alliance led to the sharpest annual growth in Central and Western Europe since the end of the Cold War.

Spending by Israel fell 4.9% to $48.3 billion, as the war in Gaza wound down in 2025, while spending in Iran declined for the second consecutive year, falling by 5.6% to $7.4 billion.