The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 6 Countries Combined
The United States continues to lead the world in defense spending by a wide margin. In 2025, defense spending by the United States accounted for 33 percent of all military expenditures by countries around the world, according to recently released figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In total, the United States spent $954 billion on defense, which is more than the next six countries’ spending ($905 billion) combined.
Those figures represent a shift from prior years; in 2024, the United States outspent the next 9 nations combined. A primary reason for that shift is that defense spending in other countries increased significantly compared to 2024 — for example, spending on defense by Germany and Ukraine increased by 24 and 20 percent, respectively.
SIPRI’s definition of defense spending is broader than the definitions most frequently used by U.S. federal policymakers and organizations such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO reported total discretionary defense outlays of $893 billion in 2025, a 5 percent year-over-year increase, but still $61 billion less than SIPRI’s estimate. SIPRI’s total is higher in large part because it includes payments that CBO does not include in defense discretionary outlays such as spending for military retirement and some expenditures for international affairs. Nonetheless, the SIPRI comparison provides useful insights about the sheer scale of U.S. defense spending relative to other nations.
Although the United States continues to spend much more on defense than any other country, CBO currently projects that defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will decline over the coming years — from 2.8 percent of GDP in 2026 to 2.4 percent in 2036. That is significantly lower than the 50-year average level of defense spending of 4.1 percent of GDP, though subject to change in future appropriation cycles, reflecting lawmakers’ assessments of national security and geopolitical needs.
It is also important to view defense spending through the lens of America’s unsustainable national debt. Defense spending is the fourth-largest spending category in the federal budget, trailing only Social Security, net interest, and Medicare (net of offsetting receipts). In 2025 alone, the United States spent $970 billion on debt interest payments — an amount that surpassed domestic military spending by $77 billion (using CBO’s methodology). In determining the appropriate level of military expenditures in the future, as with other categories of spending, it will be important to evaluate defense spending as a national priority against the backdrop of other budgetary needs and our worsening fiscal outlook.
Photo by Jonathan Ernst - Pool/Getty Images
Further Reading
How Much Does the Government Spend on International Affairs?
Federal spending for international affairs, which supports American diplomacy and development aid, is a small portion of the U.S. budget.
The Highway Trust Fund Explained
The funding structure of the Highway Trust Fund requires serious, long-term changes, but how to approach reform remains a topic of debate.
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About the Federal Budget?
A strong fiscal outlook is an essential foundation for a growing, thriving economy. Take our quiz to see how much you really know about the federal budget.