Armament, Photo: HotNews.ro / Victor Cozmei
In 2024, Member States' defense spending reached €343 billion, increasing for the tenth year in a row. In 2025, they are expected to reach around 381 billion euros. Defense spending in 2024 increased by 19% from the previous year and by 37% from 2021.
This text is an excerpt from the “EconoMix” newsletter, which journalist Dan Popa sends every Thursday morning. You can subscribe here:
In 2024, defense spending rose to 1.9% of EU member states' GDP, up from 1.6% in 2023. In 2025, it is expected to reach around 2.1%.
Defense procurement spending up 39% from 2023, with procurement spending reaching €88 billion in 2024. Defense procurement accounts for over 80% of defense investment
In 2025, the expected spending on the purchase of defense equipment will probably exceed 100 billion euros.
With global tensions and conflicts on the rise, the United States military budget reaches a whopping $997 billion. This is almost four times the amount of China's budget, which is about 314 billion dollars.
To put that into perspective, the US military budget is even larger than the entire GDP of Poland, which is $979 billion and ranks as the world's 20th largest economy this year. Military spending appears to be increasing around the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, as countries respond to ongoing challenges.
If we look more closely at military spending, the top five spending countries have increased their budgets over the past year, accounting for around 60% of total global military spending. Together, their spending reached $1.635 trillion!
The US leads the ranking, accounting for 37% of global military spending, while China follows with 12%. This means that these two countries together account for over half of the world's military budget!
In Europe, Germany made a notable jump in military spending, rising 28 percent to $88.5 billion, which is about 1.9 percent of its GDP. This puts Germany in fourth place as the biggest military spender globally, up from seventh place last year, and for the first time since reunification, it now holds the title of the biggest military spender in Central and Western Europe. An impressive development!
Data on Member States' defense spending is based on figures from the European Defense Agency.
This text is an excerpt from the “EconoMix” newsletter, which journalist Dan Popa sends every Thursday morning. You can subscribe here:
