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Journalism of Courage
10 countries with the highest military spending in 2025: The global defence expenditures reached $2.46 trillion in 2024, according to a recent report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).
This marked an increase from $2.24 trillion in the previous year, bringing the average defence spending to 1.9% of global GDP, up from 1.6% in 2022 and 1.8% in 2023, as per the same report.
It’s largely driven by deteriorating security environments and sharpened threat perceptions in regions such as Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Asia.
Furthermore, decreased inflation also prompted countries to invest in new capabilities rather than simply covering rising operating costs and wages.
Notably, the world’s largest military spender in 2025, the United States, not only continues to dominate the rankings but also makes up 62.3 per cent of the global top five military spenders, followed by China and Russia with 18.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively, GlobalFirepower Index revealed in its recent report.
Today, countries around the world are strengthening their military forces and increasing defence budgets to assert their influence and power in an increasingly volatile and complex geopolitical world.
Ranking total annual defence expenditure budget capabilities by country, below are the world’s top ten countries with the highest military spending in 2025.
| Rank 2025 | Country | Defence Budget 2025 (USD) |
| 1 | United States | $895,000,000,000 ($895 billion) |
| 2 | China | $266,850,000,000 ($266.85 billion) |
| 3 | Russia | $126,000,000,000 ($126 billion) |
| 4 | India | $75,000,000,000 ($75 billion) |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | $74,760,000,000 ($74.76 billion) |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $71,500,540,000 ($71.5 billion) |
| 7 | Japan | $57,000,000,000 ($57 billion) |
| 8 | Australia | $55,700,000,000 ($55.7 billion) |
| 9 | France | $55,000,000,000 ($55 billion) |
| 10 | Ukraine | $53,700,000,000 ($53.7 billion) |
Source: Global Firepower Ranking 2025
India is recognised as one of the world’s leading military powers, ranking fourth on the Global Firepower Index with a score of 0.1184.
It is consistently increasing its defence spending, driving modernisation efforts, and building a significant force to address the challenges of modern warfare and enhance its military capabilities to counter rivals.
Recently, in the Union Budget for FY 2025, the government has allocated Rs 6.81 lakh crore to the Defence Ministry, representing 13.45% of the overall Union Budget, making it the highest allocation among government ministries.
This also makes India one of the largest military spenders globally, as it stands at the fourth position with a total budget of $75 billion, according to Global Firepower rankings.
