Ukraine ranks among the world leaders: results of a study on military spending
27 April 12:17
Ukraine’s military spending rose by 20% in 2025 to $84.1 billion—the highest figure in the country’s history. In 2025, Ukraine surpassed Saudi Arabia and ranked seventh in the world in terms of military spending, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Spending rose by 20% to $84.1 billion, or 40% of GDP. In terms of the ratio of military spending to GDP, Ukraine has ranked first for the fourth consecutive year. Over the 2016–2025 period, it increased by 1,501%.
“In 2025, military spending as a share of government spending reached its highest level in recorded history in both Russia and Ukraine. Their spending is likely to continue rising in 2026 if the war continues, as Russia’s oil revenues will grow and Ukraine expects to receive a significant loan from the European Union,” said Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program
The United States, China, and Russia spent the most on military needs
Global military spending in 2025 reached $2.887 trillion, 2.9 percent more than in 2024. Military spending in the United States declined, but rose by 14 percent in Europe and by 8.1 percent in Asia and Oceania.
The three countries with the highest military spending—the U.S., China, and Russia—spent a total of $1.48 trillion, or 51 percent of the global total.
According to analysts, the 2025 figure marks the 11th consecutive year of growth. The annual growth rate of 2.9 percent was significantly lower than the 9.7 percent recorded in 2024.
However, this slowdown is largely due to a decline in U.S. military spending. Outside the U.S., total spending rose by 9.2 percent in 2025.
How Much Did the U.S. Spend?
U.S. military spending in 2025, totaling $954 billion, was 7.5 percent lower than in 2024. Analysts attribute the decline in spending to the fact that the U.S. did not provide aid to Ukraine.
“The decline was primarily due to the fact that no new financial military aid to Ukraine was approved during the year. This stood in sharp contrast to the previous three years, when a total of $127 billion was approved,” the report states.
However, the U.S. increased investment in both nuclear and conventional military capabilities to maintain dominance in the Western Hemisphere and contain China in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Europe Increases Spending on Weapons
The main driver of the global increase in military spending in 2025 was a 14% rise in Europe to $864 billion.
In addition, the 29 European NATO members spent a total of $559 billion, and 22 of them had military spending of at least 2.0% of GDP. Germany was the largest military spender in the group, with its spending rising 24% year-over-year to $114 billion.
“In 2025, military spending by European NATO members grew faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting Europe’s ongoing drive toward autonomy as well as growing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden-sharing within the alliance,” said Jade Gibert-Ricard, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.
Spending in the Middle East remains stable
Military spending in the Middle East reached approximately $218 billion in 2025, just 0.1 percent more than in 2024. Apart from Israel, most other major states in the region increased their spending.
Israel’s military spending fell by 4.9 percent to $48.3 billion, reflecting a decrease in the intensity of the war in Gaza throughout 2025 following a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in January 2025.
Nevertheless, Israel’s spending remained 97 percent higher than in 2022. Turkey’s military spending rose by 7.2 percent in 2025 to $30 billion, partly due to its military operations in Iraq, Somalia, and Syria. Iran reduced its defense spending.
“Despite recent conflicts, Iran’s military spending has declined in real terms due to economic difficulties. However, official figures almost certainly underestimate the true level of spending. Iran also uses off-budget oil revenues to finance its armed forces, including the production of missiles and drones,” said Zubayda Karim, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
Japan’s military spending rose by 9.7 percent, reaching $62.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 1.4 percent of GDP.
Spending in other countries
- Between 2024 and 2025, the United Kingdom’s military spending decreased by 2.0 percent to $89.0 billion. France’s military spending during the same period increased by 1.5 percent to $68.0 billion.
- India, the world’s fifth-largest spender on defense in 2025, increased its defense spending by 8.9 percent to $92.1 billion. Pakistan’s defense spending rose by 11 percent to $11.9 billion.
- Saudi Arabia’s military spending rose by 1.4 percent to $83.2 billion, making it the eighth-largest military spender in the world.
- Total military spending in Africa rose by 8.5 percent in 2025, reaching $58.2 billion. Nigeria’s military spending rose by 55 percent to $2.1 billion in 2025, as insurgencies and extremist violence contributed to increased instability.
SIPRI is an international research institute specializing in the study of armed conflicts, armaments, arms control, and disarmament processes. It was founded in 1966 in Stockholm.
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