SIPRI: US, China, Russia accounted for half of global military spending in 2025

More than half of global military expenditure in 2025 was concentrated in the United States, China and Russia, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The institute said combined spending by the three countries reached $1.48 trillion, accounting for 51% of total global military outlays.

Overall, worldwide defence spending rose to $2.88 trillion in 2025, marking the eleventh consecutive year of growth. Military expenditure as a share of global GDP reached 2.5%, the highest level since 2009.

The report also noted that US defence spending totalled $954 billion, down 7.5% compared with the previous year. SIPRI attributed the decline to the absence of decisions on new financial assistance to Ukraine during the year, as well as shifting priorities under the country’s updated national security strategy.

At the same time, the institute emphasised that the United States continued to increase investments in both nuclear and conventional military capabilities, aiming to maintain dominance in the Western Hemisphere and to contain China in the Indo-Pacific region—identified as a key objective of its new national security strategy.

By Jeyhun Aghazada