Global military expenditure trends

Key Chapter Title List

1. Key Facts
2. Top Global Military Expenditure Countries in 2024
3. Military Expenditure of NATO Member States
4. Regional Trends
5. Africa
6. Americas
7. Asia and Oceania
8. Europe
9. Middle East
10. Military Expenditure as a Share of GDP
11. SIPRI Military Expenditure Database: Sources and Methods
12. Definitions

Document Introduction

Against the backdrop of persistently intensifying global geopolitical tensions, global military expenditure increased for the tenth consecutive year in 2024, reaching a historic high of 2.718 trillion US dollars. This represents a real-term growth of 9.4% compared to 2023, marking the steepest annual increase since 1988. The global military burden—the share of military spending in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—rose to 2.5%, and per capita military expenditure also reached its highest level since 1990. This decade-long growth trend has been primarily driven by increased spending in Europe (fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war) and the Middle East (impacted by the Gaza war and broader regional conflicts), reflecting the profound shaping of the global security landscape by conflict and great-power competition.

Based on the comprehensively updated SIPRI military expenditure database in April 2025, this report systematically analyzes global and regional military expenditure data for 2024 and examines the ten-year trend from 2015 to 2024. The report shows that the world's top five military spenders in 2024 (the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India) accounted for 60% of total global spending. Among them, the United States maintained its top position with expenditure of 997 billion US dollars, constituting 37% of the global total; China ranked second with an estimated 314 billion US dollars. Russia's military expenditure surged by 38% in 2024, reaching approximately 149 billion US dollars, accounting for 7.1% of its GDP. Ukraine, with 64.7 billion US dollars, became the world's eighth-largest spender, with its military burden (share of GDP) as high as 34%, the highest globally. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the collective expenditure of NATO member states, which totaled 1.506 trillion US dollars, representing 55% of the global total, with 18 member states meeting the guideline of allocating 2% of their GDP to defense.

From a regional perspective, military expenditure increased across all geographical regions globally for the second consecutive year. European spending, driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, increased significantly by 17% to 693 billion US dollars. Spending in Asia and Oceania grew by 6.3% to 629 billion US dollars, with tensions in East Asia being the primary driver. Estimated spending in the Middle East increased by 15% to 243 billion US dollars, with Israel's military expenditure surging by 65% due to conflict. Spending in the Americas region grew by 5.8% to 1.1 trillion US dollars, while growth in Africa was relatively moderate at 3.0%. Through detailed data tables (such as Table 1: The 40 Countries with the Highest Military Expenditure in 2024; Table 2: Military Expenditure by Region and Subregion in 2024) and thematic analysis boxes (such as Military Expenditure of NATO Member States, Military Financing and Its Broader Impacts), the report provides an in-depth interpretation of the spending dynamics, strategic motivations, and fiscal sources of major countries and regions.

The report further explores the broad socio-economic impacts of military financing methods and the geopolitical implications of the key indicator of military expenditure as a share of GDP (military burden). In 2024, the average military burden (4.4%) for countries affected by armed conflict was significantly higher than that for countries not affected by conflict (1.9%). Ukraine, Israel, and Algeria were the three countries with the highest military burdens. This analysis strictly adheres to SIPRI's open-source methodology, with its definitions covering current and capital expenditure on armed forces, defense ministries, paramilitary forces, and military space activities. It aims to provide a comprehensive and transparent assessment, offering indispensable authoritative data and deep insights for policymakers, researchers, and professional readers to understand current global arms dynamics and security trends.