World Defence Spending Hits Record $2.7 Trillion In 2024, Steepest Rise Since Cold War

New Delhi, India – As two major wars rage—one in Eastern Europe, the other in the Middle East—the world's defence wallets have opened wider than ever. According to a fresh report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure shot up to a record USD 2718 billion in 2024, reflecting a 9.4% increase over 2023—the sharpest annual surge since the Cold War drew to a close.

The message is clear: the world isn’t just arming itself—it’s racing to do so. SIPRI’s findings show that every region without exception increased spending. From bunkered Europe to the burning Levant, the instinct to arm and fortify has overtaken diplomatic posturing. The top five spenders—United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India—together splurged USD 1635 billion, amounting to 60% of total global spending.

Germany Breaks Cold War Taboo With $88.5b Budget; Poland Accelerates Its Rearmament Cycle

Europe led the global surge with military spending rising 17% to USD 693 billion in 2024, as NATO members scrambled to honour long-pending promises. Nearly every country on the continent opened their purses, with Germany marking a 28% increase to USD 88.5 billion, the highest in Western and Central Europe. Poland went further, jacking up its budget by 31% to USD 38 billion—now 4.2% of its GDP—amid growing fears of spillover from the Russian front.

But it was Russia that lit the fuse. Moscow’s defence budget ballooned by 38% to hit USD 149 billion, a sum that now consumes 7.1% of Russia’s GDP and nearly a fifth of all government spending. It’s the Kremlin’s most aggressive wartime spending since the annexation of Crimea, aimed at fuelling a war machine that shows no signs of stalling in Ukraine.

In response, Ukraine’s own military outlay rose by 2.9% to USD 64.7 billion. While still dwarfed by Russia’s, Kyiv’s defence burden now accounts for 34% of its GDP, the highest globally—a grim reminder of how war hollows out economies, even as it fuels the arms trade.

Israel Clocks Biggest Jump Since 1967; Middle East Arms Race Accelerates

In the Middle East, Israel’s defence budget soared by 65% to USD 46.5 billion, the biggest annual spike since the Six-Day War in 1967. With its military burden now at 8.8% of GDP, Israel finds itself deeply entrenched in the Gaza theatre and bracing for wider escalations with Hezbollah and Iran-backed proxies.

Even Lebanon, long crippled by economic collapse, managed a 58% leap in military spending, touching USD 635 million, fuelled by worsening internal strife and rising border hostilities. Iran, surprisingly, slashed its budget by 10% to USD 7.9 billion, likely due to fiscal pressure from sanctions and the strain of funding proxy wars across Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.

Across the board, Middle East military spending grew 15%, reaching USD 243 billion—a surge that confirms what satellite images and intercepted intel already suggested: the region is on a war footing.

China Logs 30th Year of Military Growth; India Stays in Top Five Amid Two-front Stress

In Asia, China’s military budget rose by 7% to an estimated USD 314 billion, marking three uninterrupted decades of growth. This accounts for half of all defence spending in Asia and Oceania. With investments in hypersonic weapons, nuclear arsenal expansion, and cyberwarfare capabilities, Beijing’s PLA appears geared for long-term confrontation, whether over Taiwan, the South China Sea, or the Himalayas.

India, maintaining its fifth position, continues to push forward with sustained spending. Though the report doesn’t specify its 2024 figure, the backdrop is self-explanatory—ongoing face-offs along the LAC with China, hybrid threats from Pakistan, and a push to modernise both the Army and Navy amid a Rafale Marine acquisition. India’s inclusion in the top five signals the strategic recalibration New Delhi is making in response to emerging two-front challenges.

US Remains Global Leader with Nearly $1 Trillion Budget; NATO Nations Hit Record Compliance

Leading the pack by far is the United States, with a defence budget touching USD 997 billion, a 5.7% jump from 2023. That’s 66% of NATO’s total spending and 37% of the world’s. SIPRI’s numbers show that 18 NATO members have now met the 2% GDP benchmark—up from 11 in 2023—marking the highest compliance since the guideline was issued in 2014.

 Total NATO spending stood at USD 1506 billion, confirming that the transatlantic alliance is not just rearming—it’s recalibrating for a new era of strategic confrontation, particularly with Russia, China, and an increasingly unstable Middle East. SIPRI analysts warn that the current cycle of defence spending isn’t a knee-jerk reaction—it’s structural. With grey-zone conflicts, regional rivalries, and power blocs re-emerging, global militarisation is no longer about deterrence alone. It’s about endurance. And every billion spent in 2024 is a bet on who lasts longer in the long haul. 

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