Global military spending soars to 16-year high as Europe and Asia boost defences

WEB DESK: Global military expenditure has reached levels not seen since 2009, driven by a significant ramp-up in spending across Europe and Asia.

According to the latest annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), world military spending rose by nearly 3pc in 2025, reaching a staggering total of $2.9tri.

This figure now accounts for 2.5pc of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), reflecting a planet increasingly on a war footing, according to CNN.

While the United States remains the undisputed leader in defence outlays, the most dramatic shifts are occurring amongst its allies, who are rapidly bolstering their own arsenals amid regional instabilities and shifting geopolitical alliances.

European self-reliance and the Asian arms race

In Europe, the security landscape has undergone its most radical transformation in decades. Defence spending on the continent jumped by 14pc to $864b, with NATO members in particular recording their fastest growth since 1953.

This surge is attributed to a dual pressure: the ongoing necessity for European self-reliance and persistent demands from Washington for better burden-sharing within the alliance.

Countries such as Belgium, Spain, and Norway saw their budgets increase by nearly 50pc, while Germany climbed to the position of the world’s fourth-largest spender at $114b.

Meanwhile, in Asia and Oceania, spending rose by 8.1pc to $681b. Japan’s defence budget hit its highest percentage of GDP since 1958, and Taiwan recorded its largest spending jump since 1988, as regional players react to growing uncertainty over US support and the steady military modernisation of China.

The cost of conflict and future projections

The human and economic toll of active warfare is most visible in the budgets of Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is currently the world’s most militarised economy in relative terms, devoting an estimated 40pc of its GDP to the fight against the Russian invasion.

Russia, similarly, has seen its military outlays reach record levels, consuming 7.5pc of its GDP. Though the global growth rate appeared to slow slightly in 2025, analysts note this was largely due to a temporary pause in US aid packages for Ukraine; excluding the US, global spending actually rose by a sharp 9.2pc.

Looking ahead to 2026, the trend shows no sign of abating. With the US Congress already approving over $1tri in defence spending fuelled in part by the escalating costs of the conflict with Iran and China entering its 31st consecutive year of budget increases, the global arms race appears set to accelerate well into the latter half of the decade.