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Europe’s rearmament surge
Europe’s military spending rose 14% in 2025, according to Agefi, as the world set a record in 2025 with military spending reaching 2.5% of global GDP or $2.9 trillion.
“Advertising Global rearmament, a tax on future growth While rising military spending can support innovation and short-term activity, in the long term it reduces productive investment and weighs on growth”
Agefi said the expenditures have risen for 11 consecutive years, gaining 41% since 2016, and that they represent, on average, 6.9% of public spending across countries, equivalent to $352 per person worldwide.
El País linked the trend to a persistent advance in the arms race, citing data gathered by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and saying the world has spent 11 consecutive years on a path of rising military expenditure.
El País reported that in 2025, defense spending totaled almost three trillion dollars (2.6 trillion euros), equal to 2.5% of global GDP, and that the increase in 2025 was 2.9%, lower than the jump of the previous year (9.7%).
NATO pressure and budgets
El País said Atlantic allies are set to meet next week in Turkey for the NATO annual summit, and it described European partners of the Alliance as making significant strides in military investment spurred by the threat from Russia and political pressure from the White House.
El País reported that NATO accounts for 55% of global military spending, and it said BNP Paribas Bank foresees for 2026 a further acceleration of military spending in the EU.
Agefi framed the economic stakes by arguing that prolonged militarization efforts widen structural deficits, heighten inflationary pressure and weigh down long-term public debt.
El País also quoted U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Forum in Singapore, saying, "We demand a 3.5% from our allies and partners."
Transparency fights over spending
Outside Europe, Global News reported that the finance minister’s office is refusing to release data to back up Prime Minister Mark Carney’s NATO defence spending claims for Canada.
“The finance minister’s office is refusing to release data to back up recent claims by Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada will substantially accelerate its defence spending”
Global News said Carney told the CANSEC Defence conference in Ottawa in May that Canada will substantially accelerate its defence spending, and it quoted him saying, "Our fiscal framework has already provisioned to achieve four per cent of GDP in total defence spending by the end of this decade, ahead of NATO’s timetable."
Global News added that a spokesperson for Champagne said they were "not in a position to scoop forthcoming announcements," and it quoted former associate deputy finance minister Don Drummond calling the lack of transparency "the worst he has seen in his 49 years as an economist."
Agefi’s analysis argued that redirecting resources toward defense reduces a country’s ability to finance its economic development, and it warned that when governments borrow to finance military spending, they push up interest rates and mobilize a large portion of available credit.
