The BRICS TimesA fresh SIPRI report shows India’s defence budget jumped nearly 9% in 2025. The India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025 drove up spending fast. Pakistan’s military budget also grew but India outspends it by more than 7 to 1.
India Enters Top 5 Global Military Spenders
India has officially broken into the world’s top five military spenders and the numbers are staggering. The country’s defence expenditure climbed 8.9% in 2025, reaching $92.1 billion. That puts India at the fifth spot globally, just behind the United States, China, Russia, and Germany. The data comes from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute better known as SIPRI which published its annual “Trends in World Military Expenditure” report on April 27, 2026.
Together, these five nations the US, China, Russia, Germany, and India spent a jaw-dropping $1,686 billion last year. That’s roughly 58% of the entire world’s military spending combined.
Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam Attack Pushed India’s Spending Up
The sharp jump in India’s defence budget didn’t happen in a vacuum. The Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor India’s military response to Pakistan in May 2025 triggered a massive procurement drive. India rushed to acquire drones, counter-drone systems, and advanced air defence platforms. Revised capital spending on military aircraft shot up 50% above the original budget. Indian Air Force operations and personnel costs were revised upward by 18% as well.
Pakistan Ranked 31st But Grew Its Budget Too
Across the border, Pakistan’s military spending also rose by 11%, reaching $11.9 billion. That places Pakistan at 31st globally. The SIPRI report noted, “Pakistan’s military spending grew by 11 per cent to USD 11.9 billion in 2025. The primary reasons for this increase were new orders placed with China for aircraft and missiles following the armed conflict with India in May 2025, as well as payments made for previously concluded procurement agreements that were nearing completion.” Still, India outspends Pakistan by more than seven to one a gap that keeps widening.
Asia-Pacific Arms Race Heats Up Fast
India and Pakistan weren’t alone in ramping up. Military spending across Asia and Oceania hit $681 billion in 2025 up 8.1% from 2024. That’s the biggest annual rise the region has seen since 2009. China, ranked second globally, boosted its military spending by 7.4% to $336 billion. This was China’s 31st straight year of annual increases the longest unbroken streak in SIPRI’s entire database. SIPRI noted, “A renewed campaign against corruption in military procurement does not appear to have constrained spending.”
Japan spent $62.2 billion on defence up 9.7% equalling 1.4% of GDP, the highest share since 1958. Taiwan raised its budget by 14% to $18.2 billion its largest annual jump since at least 1988 as China’s military exercises around the island intensified.
World Military Spending Hits a Record $2,887 Billion
Globally, military expenditure climbed to $2,887 billion in 2025 a 2.9% rise in real terms from the year before. This marks the 11th consecutive year of growth. As a share of global GDP, military spending now stands at 2.5% the highest it’s been since 2009. The global average military expenditure as a share of government spending was 6.9%, and the world spent roughly $352 per person on defence in 2025.
US Still Number One But Its Budget Actually Fell
Despite leading the rankings by a massive margin, the United States saw its military spending drop. At $954 billion, US defence expenditure fell 7.5% from 2024. The main reason no new financial military assistance for Ukraine was approved during the year. In the three years prior, Congress had cleared a combined $127 billion for Kyiv. Still, the US accounted for roughly a third of all global military spending and continued investing in nuclear and conventional capabilities particularly to deter China in the Indo-Pacific.
Europe’s Biggest Rearmament Drive Since the Cold War
Europe was the single biggest driver of the global surge. Regional military spending leapt 14% to $864 billion. The 29 European NATO members combined spent $559 billion and 22 of them crossed the 2% GDP threshold. Germany’s defence budget jumped 24% to $114 billion, making it the fourth-largest spender worldwide and marking three straight years of double-digit growth. Spain’s spending surged 50% to $40.2 billion its military burden crossing 2% of GDP for the first time since 1994.
Russia’s military spending rose 5.9% to $190 billion, giving it a military burden of 7.5% of GDP. Ukraine the seventh-largest spender raised its budget by 20% to $84.1 billion, which was a staggering 40% of its GDP. SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato noted, “In 2025 military expenditure as a share of government spending reached the highest level ever recorded in both Russia and Ukraine. Their spending is likely to keep growing in 2026 if the war continues, with revenues from Russia’s oil sales increasing and a major European Union loan expected by Ukraine.”
Middle East Stays Flat But Israel Pulls Back
The Middle East spent an estimated $218 billion on defence in 2025 just barely above 2024 levels. Israel’s spending dipped 4.9% to $48.3 billion after the January 2025 ceasefire with Hamas reduced fighting intensity in Gaza. Even so, Israel’s budget remains 97% higher than it was in 2022. Turkey spent $30 billion up 7.2% partly because of military operations in Iraq, Somalia, and Syria. Iran’s real-terms spending fell 5.6% to $7.4 billion dragged down by 42% annual inflation though nominal figures still rose. Saudi Arabia increased spending marginally by 1.4% to $83.2 billion, placing it eighth globally.
Akshay Didwaniya
Mayur Mohta
Pratik Agrawal
