Five charts show the rise of global militarization

According to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending reached $2.88 trillion in 2025, a 2.9% increase from the previous year.

To put this in perspective, that amounts to $350 per person on the planet.

In this visual analysis, Al Jazeera explains the rise of global militarization, including spending by country, the top arms sellers, and a comparison of military spending with health and education.

US tops military spending list again

In 2025, the top five military spenders were the US ($954 billion), China ($336 billion), Russia ($190 billion), Germany ($114 billion), and India ($92 billion), together accounting for over half (58%) of global military spending.

The US has been the largest spender since World War II. Its $954 billion outlay exceeds the combined spending of the next six countries.

Since 1949, the US has spent at least $53.5 trillion on its military, representing more than half (51.5%) of the global total of over $100 trillion.

Military spending typically rises during wartime and falls in peacetime. The chart below shows total global military spending over the past 75 years.

After WWII, global military spending surged in the early 1950s, from $284 billion in 1950 to $788 billion in 1953, driven largely by the Korean War. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, spending stabilized at $700-800 billion per year, reflecting controlled buildup during the early Cold War.

Then came a sharp increase in the late 1960s, when spending exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, driven by the Vietnam War and the US-Soviet arms race, peaking at $1.7 trillion in 1988. As the Cold War ended, global military spending dropped to $1.4 trillion in 1991.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, US military spending rose again. The US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq pushed global spending above $2 trillion for the first time in 2009.

Over the past decade, global military spending has continued to climb, with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 as a turning point, as NATO members set a target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. Since 2016, military spending in Europe has doubled, with Eastern Europe up 173%, the highest of any subregion globally.

2025 marks the highest military spending in history, rising to $2.88 trillion from $1.69 trillion in 2016, a 41% increase.

Which countries are arming fastest?

Not all countries are arming at the same rate. A small group spends $2,000-5,000 per person, while most of the world remains below $100-500.

Per capita, Qatar spends the most on its military, rising from $1,231 in 2006 to $5,428 in 2022, a 340% increase. Israel follows, rising from $1,360 to $5,108, a 276% increase. Norway is third, up 181% from $1,080 to $3,040.

In percentage terms, Ukraine shows the largest increase at 3,387%, from $63 per person in 2006 to $2,197 in 2025, reflecting its ongoing conflict with Russia.

The chart below shows the top 10 increases over the past 20 years.

Who sells the most weapons in the world?

Global arms trade is dominated by a few countries, typically with strong defense industries. From 2016 to 2025, weapons worth $295 billion were sold worldwide.

In addition to spending the most on its military, the US is also the largest arms exporter, accounting for 39% ($115 billion) of the global market share. Washington's dominance is largely driven by foreign policy, the relationship between the defense industry and government, and the level of innovation in the sector.

According to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, from 2020 to 2024, private companies received $2.4 trillion in contracts from the Pentagon, more than half of the department's discretionary spending. One-third ($771 billion) of those contracts went to five companies: Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman.

Russia is the second largest arms exporter, with 13% ($40 billion) of the global market, followed by France at 9.3% ($28 billion), China at 5.5% ($16 billion), and Germany at 5.5% ($16 billion).

How does military spending compare to health and education?

When a country is asked to spend more on defense, the money must come from somewhere. If governments do not expand budgets or raise new revenue, increased military spending can put pressure on other sectors that people rely on daily, such as health and education.

Among the 137 countries analyzed by Al Jazeera, we categorized each by the sector it spends the most on as a share of GDP: health, education, or military. The results: 114 countries spend the most on health, 14 on education, and 9 on the military.

The table below highlights these results. Click on a category name to sort values from highest to lowest, or use the search box to find a specific country.

What is changing in modern militarization?

Traditional armies are changing. While the 20th century was defined by mass mobilization, heavy armor, and air power, today's defense is integrating these with artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and digital warfare infrastructure, often combining classical defense contractors with cutting-edge tech companies.

Recent technological changes have advanced through the information age, enabling the proliferation of drones, AI-assisted targeting and surveillance, cyber warfare capabilities, precision-guided weapons, and nuclear modernization programs.

For example, the US Department of Defense and the Pentagon increasingly incorporate privately developed software systems into their war machine. Last summer, the Defense Department awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to deploy generative AI in the US military, along with $200 million contracts to xAI and Anthropic. Palantir's AI-assisted targeting system has been used by the Israeli government during the war in Gaza.