Story perspectives

US Defense Spending Drops 7.5% Amid Global Rise

4/28/2026

Summary

US Spending Falls

US military spending fell 7.5% to $954 billion in 2025, while defense outlays reached $2.9 trillion, 11th year of growth.
Europe’s budgets rose 14% to $864 billion, with Germany up 24% to $114 billion and Spain up 50% to $40.2 billion.
Russia’s spending grew 5.9% to $190 billion (7.5% of GDP) while Ukraine’s rose 20% to $84.1 billion (40% of GDP).
Asia-Oceania outlays hit $681 billion, up 8.5%, led by China’s $336 billion and Japan’s 9.7% rise to $62.2 billion.

Summary

Germany Eases Debt-brake

Germany exempted defence spending above 1 % of GDP from its debt-brake, allowing higher outlays.
Researchers warned that vague North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) spending definitions enable “creative accounting,” citing Italy’s bridge to Sicily as a military expense.
For the first time since 1990, 22 European NATO members met the 2 % of GDP defence-spending benchmark.

History

Historical Context

Since NATO’s 1999 Washington summit set the 2 % of GDP defence-spending goal, the alliance has repeatedly used summits to reshape budgets. At the 75th-anniversary Washington meeting in July 2024, Jens Stoltenberg noted that 23 of 32 members now meet the target, while leaders such as Poland’s Andrzej Duda press for 3 % and the United States pledges new missile deployments.

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US Spending Falls

US military spending fell 7.5% to $954 billion in 2025, while defense outlays reached $2.9 trillion, 11th year of growth.
Europe’s budgets rose 14% to $864 billion, with Germany up 24% to $114 billion and Spain up 50% to $40.2 billion.
Russia’s spending grew 5.9% to $190 billion (7.5% of GDP) while Ukraine’s rose 20% to $84.1 billion (40% of GDP).
Asia-Oceania outlays hit $681 billion, up 8.5%, led by China’s $336 billion and Japan’s 9.7% rise to $62.2 billion.

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