Global military spending hits record high in 2024, SIPRI reports

According to the annual report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), total global military expenditures reached an all-time high of $2.718 trillion in 2024, a 9.4% increase from the previous year.

This figure represents 2.5% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The report, titled Trends In World Military Expenditure, 2024, states that this increase is the sharpest rise seen since 1988, and per capita military spending reached its highest level since 1990 at $334.

According to the report, 80% of global expenditures ($2.185 trillion) and 79% of the total increase belong to just 15 countries.

Analysts noted that the countries with the largest increases in spending in 2024 were Israel (65%) and Russia (38%), linking this to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

While there were minor changes in the ranking of the top five countries with the highest defense spending, the top three remained unchanged.

The US, China, and Russia maintained their leading positions. Germany rose to fourth place, while India dropped to fifth.

The ranking of other countries in the top 10 largely remained the same; Saudi Arabia moved into seventh place, which was held by Germany in 2023.

Top 10 Countries and Their Expenditures (2024):

1) US: $997 billion (3.4% of national GDP, 37% of global expenditures)

2) China: $314 billion (1.7% of GDP, 12% of global expenditures)

3) Russia: $149 billion (7.1% of GDP, 5.5% of global expenditures) – SIPRI estimate

4) Germany: $88.5 billion (1.9% of GDP, 3.3% of global expenditures)

5) India: $86.1 billion (2.3% of GDP, 3.2% of global expenditures)

6) United Kingdom: $81.8 billion (2.3% of GDP, 3% of global expenditures)

7) Saudi Arabia: $80.3 billion (7.3% of GDP, 3% of global expenditures) – SIPRI estimate

8) Ukraine: $64.7 billion (34% of GDP, 2.4% of global expenditures)

9) France: $64.7 billion (2.1% of GDP, 2.4% of global expenditures)

10) Japan: $55.3 billion (1.4% of GDP, 2% of global expenditures)

US military spending is shaped by the goals outlined in the 2022 National Defense Strategy: deterring Russia in the short term and China in the long term.

Washington allocated $246 billion for “integrated deterrence” in 2024. Of this budget, $37.7 billion was spent on modernizing the nuclear arsenal, $29.8 billion on missile defense systems, $61.1 billion on weapons for F-35 fighter jets, and $48.1 billion on new ships.

Additional expenditures included $48.4 billion in aid to Ukraine and $10.6 billion in aid to Israel.

China, whose military spending has increased continuously for the past 30 years, is investing in the comprehensive modernization of its armed forces and aims to complete this process by 2035.

Last year, Beijing particularly developed low-visibility fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and unmanned underwater vehicles.

China also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal and has begun establishing aerospace and cyber forces.

According to SIPRI’s estimates, Russia’s military spending increased by 38% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Analysts note that after the large-scale conflict began in Ukraine in 2022, Russia’s budget became much less transparent, and military spending is likely higher than the institute’s estimate of $149 billion.

According to the report, a significant portion of these funds went to financing arms purchases and subsidies for some arms manufacturers.

Another major expenditure item was military personnel payments, which reached $9.4 billion as of October 2024.

SIPRI states that it provides approximate estimates for Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia. Sergey Chemezov, Head of Russia’s state-owned defense industry company Rostec, criticized SIPRI’s calculation methodology regarding defense sector companies, stating, “We do not publish this data, like other countries such as China; it is confidential. Where do they get the data? They make it up.”

Germany rose from seventh place to fourth in 2024, becoming Europe’s largest military spender for the first time since reunification in 1990.

Berlin continues to replenish the €100 billion off-budget fund created in 2022 to increase the military budget. This fund partially finances arms purchases and military research.

In 2024, Germany provided $7.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine, becoming the second-largest donor after the US.

India, on the other hand, dropped from fourth to fifth place in 2024. The country, one of the world’s largest arms importers, aims to reduce its dependence on imports and allocates approximately 22% of its military spending to domestic procurement.

While New Delhi has made significant progress in producing armored vehicles, helicopters, and submarines in recent years, it is still dependent on imports for advanced systems such as fighter jets.

Ukraine’s expenditure of $64.7 billion represents 34% of its GDP, making it the country with the largest military burden in the world by this measure. All of the country’s tax revenues are directed towards defense spending, while non-military socio-economic needs are met through foreign aid.

In 2024, the total military expenditures of the 32 NATO countries amounted to $1.506 trillion, accounting for 55% of global expenditures. Of this figure, $454 billion belonged to European allies.

All European countries except Iceland (which does not have a standing army) increased their defense spending in 2024.

Alliance members spent an average of 16% more compared to 2023. This increase ranged from 0.4% in Spain to 43% in Romania, while the country that increased its military spending the most over the last decade was Lithuania (plus 272%).

NATO countries agreed in 2014 to allocate 2% of their GDP to defense. As of 2024, two-thirds of the alliance have reached this target.

US President Donald Trump, who previously demanded at least 2% spending from European allies, has now increased this demand to 5%.

According to SIPRI’s calculations, to reach this target, European allies would have needed to spend an additional $663 billion (143%) on top of their actual expenditures in 2024.

SIPRI analysts point out that the rapid increase in military spending places a significant financial burden on national budgets. Some governments are redirecting resources from other areas to defense.

For example, the United Kingdom plans to reduce overseas development aid, while Japan is considering increasing income, corporate, and tobacco taxes.

Myanmar, on the other hand, cut social programs and increased the share of military spending in its budget from 16% to 29%.

SIPRI predicts that this situation could lead to negative long-term socio-economic consequences, affecting the most vulnerable segments of the population and deepening economic and social inequalities.