Europe becomes leading driver of global military spending growth

Rising military spending in Europe has become the main driver of global defence spending growth in 2025, increasing by 14% to $864 billion.

In particular, NATO’s 29 European members collectively allocated $559 billion to defence, with 22 countries exceeding the 2% of GDP threshold, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The data showed the sharpest increase was recorded in Germany, where spending rose by 24% to $114 billion, reaching 2.3% of GDP for the first time since 1990.

In Spain, defence spending surged by 50% to $40.2 billion, also surpassing the 2% benchmark for the first time since 1994.

Ukraine, ranked seventh globally in military expenditure, increased its spending by 20% to $84.1 billion, equivalent to around 40% of GDP.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom saw a 2% decline to $89 billion, while France recorded a 1.5% increase to $68 billion.

SIPRI researcher Jade Guiberteau Ricard said the rapid growth in spending reflects Europe’s push for greater defence autonomy amid U.S. pressure on burden-sharing within the alliance.

Overall, global military spending has continued to rise for the 11th consecutive year, increasing by 2.9% in 2025 to reach $2.89 trillion.

The United States, China, and Russia remain the top spenders, while Germany has become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, overtaking China.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov