Global military spending hits historic $2.7 trillion

The latest world news. We now know that global military spending reached a new peak of $2.718 trillion in 2024, according to SIPRI, marking the tenth straight year of growth and the steepest increase since the Cold War. You can read the full report here.

Escalating conflicts, most notably in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with rising concerns over strategic competition in Asia, fueled a 9.4% global rise. Europe led the surge, while the United States alone accounted for over a third of global expenditure.

In Asia, China and Japan significantly ramped up their budgets, pointing to long-term military modernization goals. For now, it remains to be seen how this sustained increase in defence spending will evolve in the coming years and where this will lead.