US Military Spending vs the Rest of the World, 2025
In 2025 the United States spent $929.2bn on its military, 33.9% of the world total, and it takes the next 7 countries combined ($940.2bn) to equal that figure.
Key takeaways
- The United States spent $929.2bn on its military in 2025, 33.9% of world military spending.
- It takes the next 7 highest-spending countries combined — $940.2bn — to match the US total.
- The combined total of those 7 countries exceeds the US figure by only about $11bn, roughly a 1% margin.
- All figures are in SIPRI constant 2024 US dollars. Our calculation from SIPRI country-level data. Not SIPRI's own published total.
Verdict
The United States spent $929.2bn on its military in 2025, or 33.9% of world spending, and needed the combined budgets of the next 7 countries — $940.2bn — to be matched. Our calculation from SIPRI country-level data. Not SIPRI's own published total.
At a glance
| US military spending, 2025 | $929.2bnSIPRI constant 2024 USD |
|---|---|
| US share of world total | 33.9%share of 2025 world military spending, per SIPRI |
| Countries needed to match the US | 7combined, not individually |
| Combined spending of those 7 countries | $940.2bnour calculation from SIPRI country data; sum of countries ranked 2nd-8th, full 2025 coverage for all seven |
| Margin between US and next-7 total | ~$11bnnext 7 combined exceed US total by ~1% |
The United States spent $929.2bn on its military in 2025 — 33.9% of everything the world spent on defense that year. Matching that single country's budget took the combined spending of the next 7 highest-spending countries, whose totals added up to $940.2bn.
01 How much did the US spend on its military in 2025?
SIPRI's 2025 country-level data puts United States military expenditure at $929.2bn, in constant 2024 US dollars. No other country comes close on its own — the gap between the US and the next-largest single spender is wide enough that matching it isn't a one-country comparison at all, it's a multi-country one.
02 US share of world military spending
That $929.2bn figure equals 33.9% of world military spending in 2025, per SIPRI's country-level data.
Our calculation from SIPRI country-level data. Not SIPRI's own published total.
03 How many countries combined match US spending?
It takes the next 7 highest-spending countries combined to equal the US total — their spending adds up to $940.2bn, just above the United States' $929.2bn. Below that threshold, six countries or fewer fall short; a seventh is what closes the gap. That ratio — one country against seven — is the clearest single measure of how concentrated global military spending was in 2025.
$940.2bn is the sum of the seven countries ranked 2nd through 8th by 2025 military spending in SIPRI's dataset (see the full 2025 rankings for the country-by-country list). All seven have complete 2025 data coverage in this sum.
04 US spending vs the next 7 countries, side by side
| Spender | 2025 spending | Share of world total |
|---|---|---|
| United States — single country | $929.2bn | 33.9% |
| Next 7 countries combined — our calculation from SIPRI country data | $940.2bn | — |
- One vs. seven — the United States alone needs seven other countries' full military budgets combined to be matched in dollar terms.
- Narrow margin at the top — the combined total of those 7 countries, $940.2bn, exceeds the US figure by only about $11bn, a gap of roughly 1%.
- Constant-dollar basis — all figures are in SIPRI constant 2024 US dollars, so they are comparable across countries without inflation or currency distortion within the same year.
05 Where to see the full 2025 rankings
The $929.2bn and $940.2bn figures on this page describe the top of the distribution — the single largest spender and the group needed to offset it. For the full country-by-country breakdown behind that group of 7, including where each individual country's 2025 total falls, see the 2025 world rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much did the US spend on its military in 2025?
- $929.2bn, in SIPRI constant 2024 US dollars.
- What percentage of world military spending does the US account for?
- 33.9% of world military spending in 2025.
- How many countries does it take to match US military spending?
- The next 7 highest-spending countries combined, totaling $940.2bn, are needed to match the US figure of $929.2bn.
- Is the $940.2bn combined figure published by SIPRI?
- No. Our calculation from SIPRI country-level data. Not SIPRI's own published total.
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.