Defence claims more public money in much of the world

Defence took a larger share of public spending in many countries in 2025, reaching 23.53% in Saudi Arabia. The US moved the other way, with its share falling to 8.25%.

Saudi Arabia: Defence took 23.53% of government spending in 2025, up from 21.91% in 2024. Military spending reached US$83.2 billion.
Russia: Military spending absorbed 19.83% of the public budget and 7.5% of GDP, up from 6.87% of GDP in 2024.
United States: Military spending fell 5% to $954.4 billion. Its share of government spending declined to 8.25% from 9.05%.
European countries: Denmark's defence share of government spending rose to 6.64% from 4.79%, while Belgium's increased to 3.67% from 2.37%. Germany's military spending rose 26.5% to €100.7 billion.
Japan: Military spending rose 13.3% to ¥9.3 trillion, taking 3.81% of government spending, up from 3.45%.
Uruguay: Defence accounted for 7.09% of government spending, up from 6.28%, and reached 2.28% of GDP.
Ireland and Bulgaria: Spending increases did not translate into larger budget shares. Ireland's military spending rose 11.6%, but its budget share fell to 0.93% from 0.98%; Bulgaria's share also fell despite spending growth.

Across the countries covered, defence generally gained weight in public budgets, though spending increases did not always mean a larger share of government money.