The world is up in arms: global military spending has exceeded $2.8 trillion and will continue to grow

Global military spending will reach a record $2,887 billion in 2025, up 2.9 percent in real terms from a year earlier. It is the eleventh straight year of uninterrupted growth. This is according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published on 27 April 2026. Military spending as a share of global GDP reached 2.5 per cent - the highest level since 2009.

The three largest military powers, the US, China and Russia, together spent $1,480 billion, or 51 percent of the world total. While the absolute numbers are awe-inspiring, the dynamics of their spending vary considerably. As the largest player, the U.S. cut military spending by 7.5 percent to $954 billion-primarily because Congress approved no new military aid to Ukraine in all of 2025, compared to a total of $127 billion approved in the previous three years. However, according to SIPRI, this decline is likely temporary: for 2026, Congress has approved spending in excess of $1 trillion, and Trump's budget proposal for 2027 speaks of $1.5 trillion.

By contrast, the main driver of global growth was a dramatic jump in Europe. Military spending on the old continent rose 14 percent to $864 billion - the steepest annual increase since the end of the Cold War. Germany, as the biggest spender among European NATO members, increased its budget by 24 percent to $114 billion, surpassing the two percent of GDP mark for the first time since 1990.

Spain saw an even more significant turnaround: a 50 percent increase to $40.2 billion lifted its military burden above two percent of GDP for the first time since 1994. In total, 22 of NATO's 29 European members met the two percent target set by the SIPRI methodology in 2025. Russia increased spending by 5.9 percent to $190 billion - equivalent to 7.5 percent of GDP. Ukraine added twenty percent to reach $84.1 billion, or 40 percent of GDP. The share of military spending in government spending reached an all-time high in both countries.

Asia and Oceania recorded the fastest annual growth since 2009 - up 8.1 percent to $681 billion. As the world's second-largest spender, China increased its budget by 7.4 percent to $336 billion for the 31st consecutive year. Japan added 9.7 percent and spending equivalent to 1.4 percent of GDP is the highest since 1958. Taiwan increased spending by 14 percent - the largest increase since 1988 - in direct response to intensified Chinese military exercises around the island.

In the Middle East, spending was flat: the total of $218 billion was only 0.1 per cent higher than the previous year. Israel, as an exception, reduced spending by 4.9 percent to $48.3 billion - yet remains 97 percent higher than in 2022. Iran reduced real spending by 5.6 percent to $7.4 billion due to inflation of over 42 percent; SIPRI also notes that Iran's real spending is likely significantly higher, as Tehran funds part of its weapons program - missiles, drones - with off-budget revenues from oil sales.

For the Czech Republic, the report has a direct economic impact. The Prime Minister's government Andrej Babiš approved an increase in the defence budget to two per cent of GDP, with defence contracts - from artillery ammunition to armoured vehicles to cyber systems - significantly boosting demand for domestic manufacturers.

Group activities Czechoslovak Group a Colt CZ international markets are directly benefiting from the European arms boom, with demand coming mainly from Poland, the Baltic States and the Scandinavian countries. Yet SIPRI warns that as the arms buildup grows, so does the risk that the lines between military and security spending will begin to blur, reducing transparency and making comparisons between countries more difficult.

SIPRI Research Director Nan Tian sums up the situation succinctly: „The increase in military spending in 2025 reflects the ongoing war in Ukraine, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, escalation in the Middle East, and continued U.S. pressure on allies to contribute more to their own defense. These factors are not going anywhere in 2026 - on the contrary, they are likely to intensify.“

gnews.cz - GH