Top 10 largest military spenders in 2024-25: Where does India rank in comparison with the US, China?

Top Military Spending Countries 2025: Military expenditures worldwide have increased significantly in response to rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainties.

According to the latest report from the Institute of Economics and Peace, spending on peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts accounted for only 0.52 per cent of total military expenditures in 2024, a drop from 0.83 per cent a decade earlier.

Overall, global military spending reached a record $2.7 trillion in 2024, representing a 9 per cent increase from the previous year.

Per capita spending on military and internal security by region for 2024. (Source: IEP)

This represents the steepest annual rise since 1988, surpassing the increases of 6.8 per cent in 2023 and 3.5 per cent in 2022.

The report further highlighted that the military expenditure as a percentage of GDP experienced the second largest annual decline, with 84 countries increasing their relative military spending, compared to only 50 where it decreased.