Europe Military Spending 2024: $717.5bn Total
Europe's 44 countries spent a combined $717.5bn on defense in 2024, equal to 26.9% of world military spending, with Russia the largest single spender at $149.4bn.
Key takeaways
- Europe spent $717.5bn on defense in 2024 across 44 countries.
- That total equals 26.9% of world military spending in 2024.
- Russia is the region's largest spender at $149.4bn, or 20.8% of Europe's total.
- The UK ($89.8bn), Germany ($86.1bn), Ukraine ($64.8bn), and France ($63.6bn) round out the top five.
- The $717.5bn figure is a sum of country-level SIPRI data, not a SIPRI-published regional total.
Verdict
Europe's 44 SIPRI-reporting countries spent $717.5bn on defense in 2024, or 26.9% of world military spending, with Russia the largest single spender at $149.4bn. This total is our calculation from SIPRI country-level data, not a SIPRI-published regional figure, and excludes any country without a reported 2024 value.
At a glance
| Europe total, 2024 | $717.5bnSum across 44 countries |
|---|---|
| Share of world spending | 26.9% |
| Top spender | Russia — $149.4bn20.8% of Europe total |
| Countries covered | 44 |
| Currency basis | Constant 2024 US$ |
Europe's 44 countries spent a combined $717.5bn on defense in 2024, equal to 26.9% of world military spending that year — with Russia the largest single spender in the region at $149.4bn.
01 Europe's Total Military Spending in 2024
Adding up SIPRI's country-level figures for every European state with a reported 2024 value produces a regional total of $717.5bn. That sum spans 44 countries, from major spenders like Russia and the United Kingdom down to the continent's smallest defense budgets.
Sum of the 44 Europe countries SIPRI reports for 2024. Countries without a 2024 figure are excluded.
Our calculation from SIPRI country-level data. Not SIPRI's own published total.
02 Top Spenders: Russia, UK, Germany, Ukraine, France
Russia leads all European countries on 2024 military spending at $149.4bn, representing 20.8% of the $717.5bn regional total. The United Kingdom follows at $89.8bn (12.5% of the regional total), then Germany at $86.1bn (12.0%), Ukraine at $64.8bn (9.0%), and France at $63.6bn (8.9%).
| Rank | Country | 2024 Spending | Share of Europe Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | $149.4bn | 20.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $89.8bn | 12.5% |
| 3 | Germany | $86.1bn | 12.0% |
| 4 | Ukraine | $64.8bn | 9.0% |
| 5 | France | $63.6bn | 8.9% |
| 6 | Italy | $37.9bn | 5.3% |
| 7 | Poland | $34.5bn | 4.8% |
| 8 | Spain | $25.2bn | 3.5% |
Russia and Ukraine both appear in the top five, a reflection of the active conflict between the two countries; their inclusion here is a statement of reported expenditure, not a judgment about either country's position in that conflict.
03 Europe's Share of Global Military Spending
Europe's $717.5bn accounts for 26.9% of world military spending in 2024. That places the region as a substantial share of the global total alongside other major spending blocs, though this page tracks the regional figure rather than a full world breakdown — for country-by-country global context, see the 2024 world rankings.
04 How This Total Is Calculated
- Source data — each country figure comes from the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, expressed in constant 2024 US dollars.
- Aggregation method — the $717.5bn regional total is our own sum across the 44 European countries SIPRI reports for 2024; it is not a figure SIPRI itself publishes as a single regional number.
- Coverage — countries without a reported 2024 figure are simply excluded from the sum rather than estimated, so the true regional total (if every country reported) would be at least as high as $717.5bn.
- Comparability — because all figures use constant 2024 dollars, country and regional totals here are directly comparable without further currency or inflation adjustment.
05 Country-by-Country Breakdown
Below the top five, spending drops off quickly. Italy's $37.9bn is 5.3% of the $717.5bn regional total, Poland's $34.5bn is 4.8%, and Spain's $25.2bn is 3.5%. The remaining 36 countries in the 44-country dataset make up the rest of the regional total not shown in the table above.
This pattern — a small number of countries accounting for the largest share of the regional total — mirrors what SIPRI's regional breakdowns typically show, including the presence of active combatants Russia and Ukraine among the largest spenders.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much did Europe spend on the military in 2024?
- Europe's 44 countries spent a combined $717.5bn on defense in 2024, based on SIPRI country-level data.
- What share of world military spending does Europe account for?
- Europe's $717.5bn represents 26.9% of world military spending in 2024.
- Which European country spent the most on defense in 2024?
- Russia spent the most, at $149.4bn, equal to 20.8% of Europe's $717.5bn regional total.
- Is the $717.5bn figure published directly by SIPRI?
- No — it is our calculation from SIPRI's country-level data, summing the 44 European countries with a reported 2024 figure. Countries without a 2024 figure are excluded.
defensebudget.org
Defense spending data, sourced from SIPRI
defensebudget.org tracks military expenditure for 160 countries using the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Pages are generated from that dataset and reviewed before publication.