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, which plans to increase its budget to 100 billion euros, decrypting a global trend on the rise for eleven years.
War in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and the Near East: the world is feeling increasingly insecure. This feeling is reflected in a massive acceleration of military investments, reaching an absolute record of 2.9 trillion dollars in 2025.
This is the undeniable conclusion 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 heavily to strengthen their armed forces.
The global top three
Unsurprisingly, the United States dominates the ranking of the world’s leading military power by far, 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.
The old continent is not left behind and significantly increases its military effort. In Europe, Germany has the largest budget, at 114 billion, an increase of 24% in one year, and a level unseen in 35 years. Spain also stands out as a major contributor to military efforts, with a 50% increase in spending in one 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 set: Emmanuel Macron has promised to increase defense spending by 36 billion by 2030, with the aim of reaching 100 billion by four years.
However, this goal poses a real societal choice. Today, out of 1,000 euros of taxes collected by the state, 32 euros are allocated to defense. The question now is whether the country is ready to allocate more resources to this budget, even if it means reducing investments elsewhere.
