By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM | 30 April 2025 (IDN) — As the long-drawn-out conflicts in Ukraine, beginning February 2014 and Gaza, since October 2023, continue with no signs of a resolution, there is one significant fall-out: the rise in military spending worldwide.
The ongoing conflicts also include civil wars in Syria, Sudan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, world military expenditures have hit a record $2718 billion in 2024, an increase of 9.4 per cent in real terms from 2023 and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least the end of the Cold War.
Military spending increased in all world regions, with remarkably rapid growth in Europe and the Middle East.
The top five military spenders—the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India—accounted for 60 per cent of the global total, with combined spending of $1635 billion, according to new data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 28 April.
‘Over 100 countries around the world raised their military spending in 2024. As governments increasingly prioritize military security, often at the expense of other budget areas, the economic and social trade-offs could significantly affect societies for years to come,’ said Xiao Liang, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
Meanwhile, according to the US Department of Commerce, Saudi Arabia has announced its defence spending for 2025, set at a hefty $78 billion. This allocation represents 21% of total government expenditure and accounts for 7.1% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
With this level of spending, Saudi Arabia ranks as the fifth-largest defence spender globally and remains the largest in the Arab world.
The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) was established under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative to drive economic diversification and enhance national defence production capabilities.
GAMI Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali highlighted that 74 business opportunities have been identified within the Saudi military industry supply chain, with 30 of them prioritized by the Ministry of Defense.
European spending surge drives up global total
According to SIPRI, military spending in Europe (including Russia) rose by 17 per cent to $693 billion and was the primary contributor to the global increase in 2024.
With the war in Ukraine in its third year, military expenditure kept rising across the continent, pushing European military spending beyond the level recorded at the end of the Cold War. All European countries increased their military spending in 2024 except Malta.
The breakdown from SIPRI follows:
Russia’s military expenditure reached an estimated $149 billion in 2024, a 38 per cent increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015. This represented 7.1 per cent of Russia’s GDP and 19 per cent of all Russian government spending.
Ukraine’s total military expenditure grew by 2.9 per cent to reach $64.7 billion—equivalent to 43 per cent of Russia’s spending. At 34 per cent of GDP, Ukraine had the largest military burden of any country in 2024.
‘Russia once again significantly increased its military spending, widening the spending gap with Ukraine,’ said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
‘Ukraine currently allocates all of its tax revenues to its military. In such a tight fiscal space, it will be challenging for Ukraine to keep increasing its military spending.’
Several countries in Central and Western Europe saw unprecedented rises in their military expenditure in 2024 as they implemented new spending pledges and large-scale procurement plans.
Germany’s military expenditure increased by 28 per cent to reach $88.5 billion, making it the biggest spender in Central and Western Europe and the fourth biggest in the world.
Poland’s military spending grew by 31 per cent to $38.0 billion in 2024, representing 4.2 per cent of Poland’s GDP.
‘For the first time since reunification, Germany became the biggest military spender in Western Europe, which was due to the €100 billion special defence fund announced in 2022,’ said Lorenzo Scarazzato, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
‘The latest policies adopted in Germany and many other European countries suggest that Europe has entered a period of high and increasing military spending that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.’
Spending in a record number of NATO members reaches 2 per cent of GDP
All NATO members increased their military expenditure in 2024. Total military spending by NATO members amounted to $1506 billion, or 55 per cent of global military expenditure. Of the 32 NATO members, 18 spent at least 2.0 per cent of GDP on their militaries, according to SIPRI methodology, up from 11 in 2023 and the highest number since NATO adopted the spending guideline in 2014.
Military spending by the US rose by 5.7 per cent to reach $997 billion, which was 66 per cent of total NATO spending and 37 per cent of world military spending in 2024.
A significant portion of the US budget 2024 was dedicated to modernizing military capabilities and the US nuclear arsenal to maintain a strategic advantage over Russia and China.
European NATO members spent $454 billion, representing 30 per cent of total spending across the alliance. ‘The rapid spending increases among European NATO members were driven mainly by the ongoing Russian threat and concerns about possible US disengagement within the alliance,’ said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
‘It is worth saying that boosting spending alone will not necessarily translate into significantly greater military capability or independence from the USA. Those are far more complex tasks.’
Middle East military spending soars
Military expenditure in the Middle East reached an estimated $243 billion in 2024, an increase of 15 per cent from 2023 and 19 per cent more than in 2015.
Israel’s military expenditure surged by 65 per cent to $46.5 billion in 2024, the steepest annual increase since the Six-Day War in 1967, as it continued to wage war in Gaza and escalated conflict with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Its military burden rose to 8.8 per cent of GDP, the second highest in the world.
Lebanon’s military spending rose by 58 per cent in 2024 to $635 million, after several years of lower spending due to economic crisis and political turmoil.
‘Despite widespread expectations that many Middle Eastern countries would increase their military spending in 2024, major rises were limited to Israel and Lebanon,’ said Zubaida Karim, Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
‘Elsewhere, countries either did not significantly increase spending in response to the war in Gaza or were prevented by economic constraints.’
Iran’s military spending fell by 10 per cent in real terms to $7.9 billion in 2024 despite its involvement in regional conflicts and its support for regional proxies. The impact of sanctions on Iran severely limited its capacity to increase spending.
China and its neighbours continue military build-ups
China, the world’s second-largest military spender, increased its military expenditure by 7.0 per cent to an estimated $314 billion, marking three decades of consecutive growth. China accounted for 50 per cent of all military spending in Asia and Oceania, investing in the continued modernization of its military and expansion of its cyberwarfare capabilities and nuclear arsenal.
Japan’s military spending rose by 21 per cent to $55.3 billion in 2024, the largest annual increase since 1952. Its military burden reached 1.4 per cent of GDP, the highest since 1958. India’s military expenditure, the fifth largest globally, grew by 1.6 per cent to $86.1 billion.
Spending by Taiwan grew by 1.8 per cent in 2024 to reach $16.5 billion.
“Major military spenders in the Asia–Pacific region are investing increasing resources into advanced military capabilities,” said Nan Tian, Director of the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. “With several unresolved disputes and mounting tensions, these investments risk sending the region into a dangerous arms-race spiral.”
Other notable developments, according to SIPRI, include:
In 2024, the United Kingdom increased its military expenditure by 2.8 per cent to reach $81.8 billion, making it the sixth biggest spender worldwide. Military spending by France rose by 6.1 per cent to reach $64.7 billion, making it the ninth biggest spender.
Sweden increased its military expenditure by 34 per cent in 2024 to $12.0 billion. In its first year of NATO membership, Sweden’s military burden reached 2.0 per cent of GDP.
Saudi Arabia was the largest military spender in the Middle East in 2024 and the seventh largest worldwide. Its military spending saw a modest increase of 1.5 per cent, reaching an estimated $80.3 billion, but still 20 per cent lower than in 2015 when the country’s oil revenues peaked.
Military spending by Myanmar surged by 66 per cent in 2024 to an estimated $5.0 billion—the highest rate of increase in Asia and Oceania—as internal conflicts intensified.
Mexico’s military spending rose by 39 per cent to $16.7 billion in 2024, primarily due to increased funding for the National Guard and the Navy, which are involved in the government’s militarized response to organized crime.
Military expenditure in Africa totalled $52.1 billion in 2024, a 3.0 per cent increase from 2023 and 11 per cent higher than in 2015. (IDN-InDepthNews)
Image: World military expenditure 2024. Source: SIPRI