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Global military expenditure rose for the 11th consecutive year to a record $2.887 trillion in 2025, according to a recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, marking a 41% increase since 2016.

This rise in global military expenditure occurred despite a decline in US defence outlays. Nevertheless, Washington remained by far the world’s largest military spender, with its 2025 defence budget exceeding the combined military expenditure of the next four heavy spenders, China, Russia, Germany and India.

The reduction in US outlays was more than offset by rising defence budgets elsewhere, particularly in Asia and Europe, resulting in military expenditure among all countries excluding the US growing by 9.2% over the year.

Share of the world’s defence expenditure in GDP rises

Alongside, the world’s military burden, or share of the world’s defence expenditure in GDP crept up from 2.4% in 2024 to 2.5% in 2025. The global military expenditure is unlikely to decline anytime soon. If anything, it is expected to continue rising as the US presses its allies and partners to shoulder a greater share of collective defence responsibilities within security arrangements such as NATO.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month, US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth said that president Donald Trump had set the “gold standard” in defence spending by allocating more than 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the military and urged “every single ally and partner” to demonstrate a similar level of commitment. He also warned allies accustomed to “free [riding] on the generosity of the American taxpayer”, that such an approach was no longer sustainable.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.

NATO allies, long accustomed to the United States’ predominance in Europe’s security architecture, appear to be taking this strategic shift seriously. Earlier this month, UK defence secretary John Healey resigned after concluding that the Labour Party-led government’s long-delayed Defence Investment Plan fell significantly short of the resources required to meet Britain’s defence needs and its longer-term NATO spending commitments. Healey argued that a substantial increase in military expenditure was necessary to address an........

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