Global Military Spending 2025: $2,740.0bn Total & Country Shares
Global military spending reached $2,740.0bn in 2025, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data across 149 countries.
Key takeaways
- Global military spending totaled $2,740.0bn in 2025 across 149 countries, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data.
- The United States alone accounts for $929.2bn, or 33.9% of the $2,740.0bn world total.
- The top five spenders (US, China, Russia, Germany, India) make up 59.2% of the world total; the top 10 make up 72.8%.
- Ranked by share of GDP rather than dollars, Ukraine (39.56%) and Russia (7.5%) carry far heavier burdens than the US (3.12%) or Japan (1.41%).
- The total is a floor, not a ceiling: North Korea and several other spenders have no SIPRI series and are excluded.
Verdict
World military spending reached $2,740.0bn in 2025, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data, with the United States alone responsible for 33.9% of that total and the top five countries for 59.2%. The figure sums the 149 countries SIPRI reports for 2025 — some spenders, like North Korea, are absent from the dataset, so this is a floor, not the whole world.
At a glance
| World total (2025) | $2,740.0bnOur calculation from 149 SIPRI-reported countries |
|---|---|
| United States | $929.2bn33.9% of world total |
| China | $335.0bn12.2% of world total |
| Top 5 share | 59.2%US, China, Russia, Germany, India |
| Top 10 share | 72.8%Of the $2,740.0bn world total |
| Highest GDP burden | Ukraine, 39.56%vs. 3.12% for the US |
Global military spending reached $2,740.0bn in 2025, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data across 149 countries — with the United States alone accounting for 33.9% of that total.
01 How much does the world spend on the military in 2025?
Adding up SIPRI's country-level military expenditure series for 2025 gives a world total of $2,740.0bn, expressed in constant 2024 US dollars. That figure covers the 149 countries SIPRI reports data for that year. It is not a figure SIPRI itself publishes as a single world number — it is our calculation from SIPRI country-level data, built by summing each country's reported spending.
The total is useful less as an abstract sum and more as a denominator: every share or percentage below is a slice of this $2,740.0bn, and can be checked against it directly.
02 The top 10 military spenders and their share of the world total
Spending is heavily concentrated at the top. The five largest spenders — the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India — together account for 59.2% of the $2,740.0bn world total. The top 10 extend that to 72.8%.
| Rank | Country | 2025 Spending | Share of World | Cumulative Share | % of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $929.2bn | 33.9% | 33.9% | 3.12% |
| 2 | China | $335.0bn | 12.2% | 46.1% | 1.72% |
| 3 | Russia | $158.2bn | 5.8% | 51.9% | 7.5% |
| 4 | Germany | $106.7bn | 3.9% | 55.8% | 2.27% |
| 5 | India | $93.3bn | 3.4% | 59.2% | 2.3% |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $88.0bn | 3.2% | 62.4% | 2.35% |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | $81.5bn | 3.0% | 65.4% | 6.48% |
| 8 | Ukraine | $77.6bn | 2.8% | 68.2% | 39.56% |
| 9 | France | $64.5bn | 2.4% | 70.6% | 2.03% |
| 10 | Japan | $59.5bn | 2.2% | 72.8% | 1.41% |
03 Why the United States and China account for the largest shares of global spending
The United States and China together represent 46.1% of the $2,740.0bn world total, while the remaining 147 countries together account for the other 53.9%. The United States spends $929.2bn, close to three times China's $335.0bn, and its 33.9% share of the world total is roughly the size of the next four countries' shares added together (China, Russia, Germany and India total 25.3%).
- United States — $929.2bn, 33.9% of the $2,740.0bn world total, equal to 3.12% of its own GDP.
- China — $335.0bn, 12.2% of the world total, equal to 1.72% of its own GDP.
Ranked purely by dollar amount, these two are the data-determined leaders on this metric. That ranking describes scale of spending only; it carries no assessment of threat, capability, or justification.
04 Spending as a share of GDP: a different picture of burden
Ranking by dollar total and ranking by economic burden produce very different pictures. Ukraine spends $77.6bn — only 2.8% of the world total — but that equals 39.56% of its own GDP, by far the highest ratio among the top 10. Russia's $158.2bn is 7.5% of its GDP, and Saudi Arabia's $81.5bn is 6.48% of its GDP. By contrast, the United States' $929.2bn, despite being the largest sum, is 3.12% of its GDP, and Japan's $59.5bn is just 1.41% of its GDP — the lowest ratio in the top 10.
Dollar totals measure absolute scale; the percentage-of-GDP figures measure the economic weight of that spending on each country's own economy. A country can rank low on one measure and high on the other, as Ukraine and Japan illustrate.
05 What this total leaves out: coverage and data caveats
The $2,740.0bn figure is a sum of 149 countries' worth of SIPRI data, not a survey of every state that fields armed forces.
Sum of the 149 countries SIPRI reports for 2025. Some spenders are absent from the dataset (North Korea has no series; several states have gaps), so this is a floor, not the whole world.
Because of these gaps, $2,740.0bn should be read as a lower bound on true global military spending in 2025, not a definitive total. For the complete country-by-country breakdown behind these figures, see the 2025 world rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much did the world spend on the military in 2025?
- $2,740.0bn, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data across the 149 countries SIPRI reports for 2025.
- What share of global military spending does the United States account for?
- The United States spent $929.2bn in 2025, which is 33.9% of the $2,740.0bn world total.
- Do the top spenders account for most of global military spending?
- Yes. The top five countries (United States, China, Russia, Germany, India) account for 59.2% of the $2,740.0bn world total, and the top 10 account for 72.8%.
- Is the $2,740.0bn figure a complete world total?
- No. It is the sum of the 149 countries SIPRI reports for 2025. Some spenders, including North Korea, have no SIPRI series and are excluded, so the true global figure is higher.
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.