The world has set a record sum for its army in 2025. Faced with international instability, global powers are massively rearming. From Germany to France, who plans to increase its budget to 100 billion euros, decrypting a trend on the rise for eleven years.
War in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East: the world feels increasingly insecure. This feeling translates into a massive acceleration of military investments, reaching an absolute record of 2.9 trillion dollars in 2025.
This is the unequivocal finding of a report published on Monday, April 27 by the International Institute for Peace Research: global military spending has been continuously growing for eleven years. Faced with the current international context, countries are investing massively to strengthen their armed forces.
The world’s leading trio
Unsurprisingly, the United States largely dominates the ranking of the world’s leading military power, with 954 billion dollars spent in 2025. China comes in second place, with 336 billion dollars allocated to its army, followed by Russia with a budget of 190 billion.
Europe is also increasing its military effort considerably. In Europe, Germany has the largest budget at 114 billion, a 24% increase from the previous year and the highest level seen in 35 years. Spain also stands out as a significant contributor to military efforts, with a 50% increase in spending over the year, reaching 40.2 billion.
Towards a budget of 100 billion euros in France
Currently, France ranks 9th in the global military spending ranking, with a budget of 64 billion dollars, behind nations like India, the United Kingdom, or Saudi Arabia.
However, the goal is clear: Emmanuel Macron has promised to increase defense spending by 36 billion by 2030, with the aim of reaching 100 billion in four years.
However, this goal presents a real societal choice. Today, out of 1,000 euros in taxes collected by the state, 32 euros are allocated to defense. The question now is whether the country is ready to dedicate more resources to this budget, even if it means reducing investments elsewhere.
[Context: The article discusses the increase in global military spending due to rising international tensions and insecurities.] [Fact Check: The article reports on specific countries like the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and Spain and their military budgets.]
