Berlin takes lead in Europe’s rearmament as global defense spending soars

Germany is by far the largest defense spender in Europe as the continent rearms to face down the threat from Russia.

But even Berlin’s spending boost falls well short of what Russia is pouring into its military as its invasion of Ukraine grinds into a fourth year.

According to data published Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), more than 100 countries increased their military spending in 2024, including all European countries except Malta. 

“Russia once again significantly increased its military spending, widening the spending gap with Ukraine,” said Diego Lopes da Silva, SIPRI’s senior researcher.

According to SIPRI’s data, Russia increased military spending by 38 percent, reaching $149 billion, making Moscow the world’s third-largest military spender at 7.1 percent of its GDP.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military spending grew by only 2.9 percent compared to 2023. However, the $64.7 billion spent on its military represents 34 percent of the country’s GDP, making it the largest military burden borne by any country. 

“Ukraine currently allocates all of its tax revenues to its military. In such a tight fiscal space, it will be challenging for Ukraine to keep increasing its military spending,” Lopes da Silva stressed.

Meanwhile, Germany increased its military spending by 28 percent last year, reaching $88.5 billion. This makes Berlin the largest military spender in Europe since German reunification in 1990 and the fourth-largest spender worldwide. 

Poland’s military spending rose by 31 percent to $38 billion, representing 4.2 percent of the country’s GDP.

With increased defense budgets across the continent, 18 out of NATO’s 32 members reached the alliance’s 2 percent defense spending target last year, the highest number since the guideline was adopted in 2014.

However, the $454 billion spent by NATO’s European allies is still dwarfed by the $997 billion spent by the world’s largest military power, the United States. Washington increased defense spending by 5.7 percent last year.

China is the world’s second-largest military spender, allocating $314 billion, which accounts for 50 percent of all defense expenditure in Asia and Oceania. 

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia topped the list with a $80.3 billion defense budget. Amid its ongoing war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and recent clashes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, Israel increased its defense spending by 65 percent to $46.5 billion. Meanwhile, Iran’s spending fell by 10 percent to $7.9 billion due to sanctions that limited its capacity to grow its budget, according to SIPRI.