World record: Ukraine spends 40% of GDP on defence, surpassing all countries in the world

World record: Ukraine spends 40% of GDP on defence, surpassing all countries in the world

In 2025, Ukraine allocated approximately 40% of GDP to defence — this is a record high in the world. Russia, in turn, spent about 7.5% of GDP on defense, according to the  SIPRI Stockholm Institute report.

Kyiv’s military spending last year increased by 20% — to $84.1 billion, their share in the state budget amounted to 63%. Despite the lack of fresh military aid from the US, Ukraine received $52.2 billion in external budgetary support.

Russia in 2025 increased military spending by 5.9%, reaching about $190 billion. The share of these expenditures in the budget rose to 20% — this is the peak in the entire history of observations.

At the same time, the secrecy of the Russian budget is intensifying: about 79% of defence spending is classified, and a new category «classified social policy» has been introduced.

The main emphasis in Russia’s military spending is now on the mass production of cheap weapons, including drones. The increase in spending is also driven by sanctions, due to which purchases are more often made through third countries, increasing their cost.