Military spending in Europe surged in 2022 to levels not seen since the late Cold War, driven by the conflict in Ukraine and reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This year marked a clear shift as European budgets rose sharply, reflecting heightened security concerns and strategic recalibrations across the continent.
Europe emerged as the region with the largest year over year increase in arms purchases, rising by 13 percent. With tensions in East Asia on the rise, global spending reached a record 2.2 trillion dollars, about 3.7 percent higher in real terms compared with the previous year and roughly 2.2 percent of world GDP. The SIPRI assessment places Europe at the forefront of this expansion, signaling sustained attention to defense modernization and deterrence priorities across multiple states.
Within Europe, Central and Western Europe accounted for substantial outlays, totaling around 345 billion dollars (about 315 billion euros). The figure surpassed the 2013 level for the first time since the 1989 post Cold War era, underscoring a persistent trend of rising budgets in the region.
Finland led with a 36 percent surge, followed by Lithuania at 27 percent, Sweden at 12 percent, and Poland at 11 percent. SIPRI highlights these as the most significant regional increases, while noting that several countries have laid out plans that suggest continued increases in defense spending in the coming years.
The report notes that the full scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 influenced spending decisions that year, but concerns about Russian aggression were rising well before 2022. Many former Eastern Bloc nations have doubled their military budgets since 2014, reflecting a long term shift in security calculations across the region.
Russia ranked third globally in military investments, increasing by 9.2 percent to 86.4 billion dollars, equivalent to about 78.9 billion euros and around 4.1 percent of its GDP. Ukraine experienced a historic leap, with spending up by about 640 percent, reaching a level corresponding to a significant share of its GDP, driven by large scale military support from international allies.
Across the Atlantic, the United States maintained undisputed leadership, allocating about 877 billion dollars in military spending in the year, or roughly 880 billion euros, representing roughly 39 percent of the world total and three times more than the second ranked nation. This period saw a modest 0.7 percent rise from 2021, a pace tempered by inflation not seen since 1981 and amplified by unprecedented military aid flows to Ukraine. The year also included a record level of security assistance to Ukraine, with military aid placing the United States among the largest contributors since the Cold War era, though these outlays represented a smaller portion of total US military spending in percentage terms this year.
Among other leading contributors, India recorded a six percent rise, Saudi Arabia reported a sixteen percent increase, and the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Korea, and Japan followed in the upper ranks. Ukraine rose to an eleventh position, climbing twenty five places relative to 2021 amid the war concentrated in eastern Europe.
Spain moved down one place to sixteenth despite increasing its outlays by seven point three percent to about 20.3 billion dollars. The country sits just ahead of Brazil in the rankings, reflecting a broader regional rebalancing of defense budgets across the Americas and Europe alike.
The SIPRI report also highlights shifts in Asia and Oceania, noting growth driven by China and Japan. Asia’s expenditure rose while Japan registered a smaller uptick, a combination that marks a notable spike since 1960 for Japan and a continuing expansion for the region as a whole.
Conversely, Central America and the Caribbean experienced a decline, with a notable drop in spending across Mexico and a broader decrease across South America, linked to reduced investments in several major projects. These regional trends illustrate the uneven global distribution of military resources even as overall expenditures climb.