Europe’s rearmament push drives global military spending to record $2.9 trillion despite U.S. pullback

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Europe ramped up military spending in 2025 — a longstanding demand of U.S. President Donald Trump — helping drive global defense outlays to a staggering $2.89 trillion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Major rearmament programs in Asia also pushed global defense spending higher for an 11th straight year in 2025, SIPRI said in a report published Monday.

SIPRI said the increase was fueled by “another year of wars, uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval with large-scale armament drives.”

Global military spending as a share of GDP climbed to 2.5%, its highest level since 2009, the report showed.