For the first time in 35 years, Germany has topped the list of Western European countries in terms of defense spending.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2024, Germany’s military budget increased by 28%, reaching 77.63 billion euros (88.5 billion dollars). This makes Germany the largest military budget in Central and Western Europe and the fourth largest in the world.
The main driver behind the growth in defense spending was a special defense fund of 100 billion euros, established in 2022 to strengthen Germany’s armed forces and accelerate the procurement of equipment for the Bundeswehr. Lorenzo Scazzato, an expert at SIPRI, noted that this increase reflects a trend of rising defense expenditures that is likely to continue in the future amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In Europe, defense spending increased by 17% in 2024, totaling 693 billion dollars. This growth affected most European countries, with the exception of Malta. France, Poland, and Sweden also increased their military budgets, aiming to modernize their armed forces and strengthen defense preparedness.
In 2024, NATO member countries spent 1.506 trillion dollars on defense, accounting for 55% of global defense spending. The United States remains the leader in defense spending, allocating 997 billion dollars for defense, which represents more than a third of global defense expenditures.
