India spent 9 times more money on defence than Pakistan did in 2024, becomes 5th largest..., Islamabad's defence budget stood at...
Amid escalating tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, a new study has underlined the stark disparity between the two neighbours' military strength. India's defence spending in 2024 was nearly nine times more than Pakistan's, according to findings released on Monday (April 28, 2025) by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). India's military expenditure rose by 1.6 per cent over the previous year, reaching USD 86.1 billion — securing its place as the world's fifth-largest defence spender. In contrast, Pakistan's defence budget stood at USD 10.2 billion, showcasing the widening gap in military capabilities between the two rivals.
The report revealed that the top five countries, the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India — together contributed to 60 per cent of global military expenditure, which totalled USD 1,635 billion.
China, in particular, saw a significant rise in its defence budget, increasing spending by 7 per cent to an estimated USD 314 billion. This marked the 30th consecutive year of growth in its military investments. According to the report, titled 'Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024', China alone accounted for half of the defence spending across Asia and Oceania, as it continued to modernise its armed forces, strengthen its cyber capabilities, and expand its nuclear arsenal.
Military spending across Europe, including Russia, surged by 17% in 2024 to reach $693 billion, making it the primary driver behind the global rise in defence budgets, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported on Monday.
With the war in Ukraine dragging into its third year, defence expenditures continued to climb across the continent, pushing European military spending past the levels last seen at the close of the Cold War, the report observed.
Russia's military budget alone soared to an estimated USD 149 billion in 2024 — a staggering 38 per cent increase from the previous year and nearly double what it was in 2015. Defence spending now accounts for 7.1 per cent of Russia's GDP and roughly 19 per cent of the government's total budget, according to SIPRI.
On the other side, Ukraine's military expenditure rose modestly by 2.9 per cent to USD 64.7 billion, amounting to 43 per cent of Russia's military outlay. At 34 per cent of its GDP, Ukraine bore the heaviest military burden of any country globally in 2024, the study noted.
'Russia once again significantly ramped up its military budget, further widening the gap with Ukraine,' said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher at SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. He warned that Ukraine, already allocating all its tax revenues to defence, faces major challenges in sustaining further increases under such fiscal pressure.
Meanwhile, several countries in Central and Western Europe recorded historic spikes in military spending as they moved forward with new investment commitments and large procurement drives. Germany boosted its defence budget by 28 per cent, reaching USD 88.5 billion — making it the largest spender in Central and Western Europe and the fourth highest globally. Poland's defence expenditure also saw a sharp rise, growing by 31 per cent to USD 38 billion, which represented 4.2 per cent of its GDP, SIPRI added.
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