Global Defense Spending: SIPRI Military Expenditure Data

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates world military expenditure reached USD 2.7 trillion in 2024 [1][2]. That is the 10th consecutive annual increase and the sharpest since the end of the Cold War, driven by the Russia-Ukraine war and other conflicts [1].

SIPRI describes this as the highest level of world military spending it has ever recorded [1].

Total world military expenditure rose 9.4% in 2024 compared with 2023 [1]. SIPRI reports that the global military burden - world military expenditure as a share of world GDP - rose as a result [1].

SIPRI's wider 2025 policy report highlights that this surge in military spending coincided with faltering progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and that higher military budgets can divert resources from social expenditure [2].

SIPRI attributes the 2024 jump to the Russia-Ukraine war, other armed conflicts, and wider geopolitical tensions [1]. The institute's yearbook covers country-level and regional detail, including the top 15 spenders and expenditure as a share of GDP for each state [1].

SIPRI's wider analysis argues that high and rising military outlays affect economic growth, inequality, and even greenhouse gas emissions through the carbon footprint of armed forces [2].

Figures come from the SIPRI Yearbook 2025 chapter on military expenditure and the SIPRI 2025 policy report on military spending and sustainable development [1][2]. SIPRI's military expenditure series uses a consistent methodology that covers all current military-related spending by central governments. Values are in current USD. Country-level data cited here come from SIPRI; this short report does not reproduce the full top-15 ranking - readers should consult SIPRI's online Military Expenditure Database for country series.