Global military spending in 2024 increased by 9.4% to $2.72 trillion, the highest level in the history of SIPRI's observations. The expenditures amounted to 2.5% of global GDP, and the cost per capita reached $334, the highest level since 1990. Defense spending has been growing for the tenth year in a row.

LIGA.net tells which countries topped the ranking in terms of defense spending, who is increasing military budgets the most actively, and what records Ukraine has broken.

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the 10 largest armies in the world by spending

All five geographic regions of the world increased military spending. The largest increases were in Europe (+17%) and the Middle East (+15%). In Europe, military spending reached $693 billion, exceeding the level of the end of the Cold War. All European countries except Malta have increased their military budgets. In NATO, 18 out of 32 member states have reached the 2% of GDP spending target, a record since the goal was introduced in 2014.

For the second year in a row, Ukraine has entered the top ten largest army budgets, spending $64.7 billion, which is 34% of the country's GDP. Expenditures in 2024 increased by 1251% compared to 2014.

Ranking of countries with the highest military spending (Infographic: Nazariy Prysyazhnyuk / LIGA.net)

SIPRI includes military aid in its estimates of donor country spending, not recipient country spending, which means that this $60 billion is not included in the total for Ukraine. If it were included, Ukraine would rank fourth in the world.

The United States accounts for 37% of global military spending, spending 3.2 times more than China. A significant portion of the US budget is earmarked for arsenal modernization and strategic deterrence of Russia and China.

10 countries with the largest share of military spending to GDP

In terms of the ratio of military spending to the economy, Ukraine ranked first in the world. In 2024, all of Ukraine's tax revenues were directed to the army, while social programs were financed by foreign aid.

Russia spent $149 billion and increased its spending by 38% over the year, which is 7.1% of its GDP and 19% of its total budget. Almost 30% of Russia's military spending remains classified. A significant part of the budget is aimed at supporting the defense industry and paying salaries to the military.

Which countries spent the largest share of GDP on their army in 2024 (Infographic: Nazariy Prysyazhnyuk / LIGA.net)

Among European countries, Germany (+28%) and Poland (+31%) have the highest growth rates. Thanks to a special defense fund of $100 billion, Germany has become the largest military budget in Central and Western Europe.

In NATO, total spending amounted to $1.5 trillion, or 55% of global military spending. 18 Allies spent more than 2% of GDP, a record since 2014. The US provided 66% of all NATO spending.

In the Middle East, total military spending increased by 15% to $243 billion. The main driver was a sharp increase in Israeli spending (+65%), which spent $46.5 billion due to the war in Gaza and the escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah.

The top five countries - the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India - accounted for 60% of all global military spending in 2024. According to SIPRI, the global trend of increasing spending will continue in the coming years due to growing instability in the world.

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