Global military spending in 2024 grew by 9.4% to exceed $2.7 trillion, or 2.5% of global GDP, the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research (SIPRI) has calculated. This is the largest annual increase since the end of the Cold War.
By military expenditures, SIPRI means all government spending on the maintenance and administration of the armed forces (including salaries and fringe benefits for military personnel), the purchase of weapons, the construction of military installations, and military research and development. All monetary amounts are expressed in 2023 U.S. dollar prices.
60% of all military spending (more than $1.6 trillion) comes from the top five countries: the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India. The US remains the leader in military spending: in 2024, it spent $997 billion on military purposes, or about 37% of all global military spending. China is in second place by a wide margin with $314 billion.
The greatest growth in military spending was recorded in Europe (by 17%) and the Middle East (by 15%).
The military burden of the Russian economy is 7.1% of GDP. Russia’s military spending is $149 billion (up 38% compared to 2023 and double compared to 2015), Ukraine’s – $64.7 billion (up 2.9% compared to 2023). Ukraine’s military spending accounts for 34% of GDP, making it the most militarised economy in the world. In second place is Israel with 8.8%.
In Europe, the highest year-on-year growth in defence spending were Poland (up 31% from 2023, to $38 billion, or 4.2% of GDP) and Germany (up 28%, to $88.5 billion). Sweden, in its first year as a NATO member, increased defence spending by 34% to $12 billion. In doing so, it reached the alliance’s agreed lower threshold of a defence burden of 2% of GDP.
France and the United Kingdom, two of the European nuclear powers, raised military spending by 2.8% to $81.8 billion (sixth worldwide) and 6.1% to $64.7 billion (ninth), respectively.
