India to spend $92.1 billion on defense in 2025, SIPRI data says; here are the top 10 military expenditures

India’s military spending rose 8.9% to $92.1 billion, according to a report published by SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). This makes India the fifth largest military spender in 2025, after the United States, China, Russia and Germany.

Together, these countries accounted for 58% of total global military spending, which reached a whopping $2,887 billion in 2025, new data released by SIPRI on April 27 shows.

The report attributes the increase in India’s military spending to a brief conflict with neighboring Pakistan in May last year. The conflict required India to use fighter jets, drones and missiles, increasing military spending during the year.

“Revised capital expenditure on military aircraft systems was 50% higher than originally planned, while operating and personnel costs for the Indian Air Force were revised upwards by 18% from the original budget,” the arms watchdog said in a recent report.

At the same time, Pakistan’s military spending rose 11% to $11.9 billion in 2025, about 12.9% of India’s. According to the report, the increase was mainly due to new aircraft and missile orders placed by China in 2025 following an armed conflict with India in May, as well as payments for earlier contracts that are nearing completion.

Global military spending

Meanwhile, the global military burden – military spending as a share of GDP – rose for the 11th year in a row to 2.5% in 2025 from 2.4% in 2024. Average military spending per person worldwide was $352 in 2025.

“Global military spending rose again in 2025 as states responded to another year of war, insecurity and geopolitical upheaval with large-scale military action,” the report said.

On the one hand, US military spending fell 7.5% year-on-year to $954 billion; on the other hand, it grew by 14% in Europe and by 8.1% in Asia and Oceania.

“Spending by Russia and Ukraine continued to rise in the fourth year of the war in Ukraine, while continued rearmament efforts by European NATO members led to the sharpest annual growth in spending in Central and Western Europe since the end of the Cold War,” SIPRI said in a press release.

China, the world’s second largest military spender, increased its military spending by 7.4% to $336 billion. It was the 31st year-on-year increase in a row as China continued its efforts to modernize its military. “The renewed campaign against corruption in military procurement does not appear to have curbed spending,” the SIPRI report said.