Europe’s rearmament push drives global military spending to record $2.9 trillion despite U.S. pullback
By Lim Hui Jie
Published on April 27, 2026.
Europe increased its military spending to a record $2.89 trillion in 2025, driven by major rearmament programs in Asia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This increase was driven by Europe's 14% increase in global spending, with spending rising 14% to $864 billion and Germany's 24% increase to $114 billion. Germany's military burden exceeded NATO's guideline of 2% GDP for the first time since 1990, while Spain's military spending jumped 50% and its defense burden exceeded 2.3%. Despite a 7.5% reduction in U.S. military expenditure, the Pentagon has requested about $1.5 trillion in defense spending for fiscal 2027, the largest request in history. Meanwhile, spending in Asia and Oceania rose 8.1% to reach $681 billion in 2025 marking the largest annual rise since 2009.
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