The new record amount of global military spending in the past year is about 2,7 trillion US dollars. This is an increase of 9,4 percent compared to 2023. For ten years now, military spending at the international level has been steadily increasing. But never before the end Cold War they have not grown so strongly within a year.
More than 100 countries have spent more on army than the previous year, as stated in the latest report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI. The increase in Europe and the Middle East was particularly significant - as a result of the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, writes Deutsche Welle.
Germany climbed to the 4th place in the world ranking
Germany has contributed significantly to development in Europe: in 2024, Germany's military spending increased for the third year in a row. According to SIPRI, they amounted to 88,5 billion US dollars, which is 28 percent more than the previous year.
Thus, Germany is now in fourth place on the list of countries with the highest military expenditures - behind the USA, China and Russia. In 2023, Germany was still in seventh place.
"For the first time since reunification, Germany is the country with the highest military expenditure in Western Europe," emphasizes SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarcato. This can be attributed to a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, which was approved in 2022. With that money, Germany better equips its underequipped army.
And that, according to SIPRI, is not the end: "Recent political decisions in Germany and many other European countries indicate that Europe has entered a phase of high and growing military spending, which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future."
Higher defense budgets across Europe
Many other European countries also significantly increased their military spending in 2024: Poland spent 31 percent more than the previous year and now invests 4,2 percent of its gross domestic product in defense. This is the highest value among all European NATO members. In 2024, the year of NATO accession, Sweden invested 34 percent more than the previous year and spent twelve billion US dollars on defense.
First of all, the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for three years now, has further increased defense spending in Europe. In addition to spending on their own armies, a lot of money went to military aid to Ukraine - a total of 60 billion US dollars. Although most of this came from the US, European countries also provided assistance – most notably Germany with US$7,7 billion.
Ukraine alone had by far the largest military expenditures in the world: they amounted to 2024 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 34. For the sake of comparison: in Germany last year they amounted to slightly less than two percent. "All tax revenues of Ukraine were fully used for military expenditures in 2024, while all non-military socio-economic expenditures were financed by foreign aid," the report states.
Last year, Russia invested 149 billion dollars in its armed forces, which is an increase of 38 percent compared to 2023.
No country spends more on the military than the US
The US remains the country with by far the largest military expenditure, which has further increased in 2024: it has invested a total of 997 billion US dollars in its armed forces. "A significant part of the US budget for 2024 was intended to modernize US military capabilities and the US nuclear arsenal, in order to maintain a strategic advantage over Russia and China," the SIPRI analysis states. The US has more than 5.000 nuclear warheads and is investing heavily in the gradual modernization of its arsenal.
And China has continued its military modernization course in all areas until 2035 – with a budget of $314 billion in 2024. Improved military capabilities include, according to SIPRI, "new stealth fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles." Also, in 2024, China continued to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal.
The danger of an arms race in Asia
Other countries in the region are also arming themselves. For example, Japan, whose military expenditures in 2024 increased by 21 percent to 55,3 billion dollars. "Major arms companies in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly investing in advanced military capabilities," points out Nan Tian, director of SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.
Given the rising tensions, there is a risk "that these investments will push the region into a dangerous arms race spiral." In particular, the massive armament of China and North Korea is perceived as a threat by other countries in the region.
Strong growth in Israel
In the Middle East, Israel stands out, increasing its military spending by 2024 percent to $65 billion in 46,5. The reason for this was the escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah, as well as the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Also, Lebanon, in this context, has again significantly increased defense allocations. Due to political and economic instability in the country, this was not the case in previous years.
