There was a sharp rise in the defence budget of Pakistan in the year 2025. According to SIPRI, the defence budget of Pakistan grew by 11 percent to $11.9 billion in the same period. This rise is attributed to the huge procurement program that followed the military confrontation between Pakistan and India in May 2025.
Increased Military Expenditure in Post-War Procurement
SIPRI directly attributed the increase in military expenditure in Pakistan to procurement made after the war that occurred last year. The nation entered into several new agreements in 2025 for procuring planes and missiles, thereby increasing its yearly defence budget substantially. The country also settled payments on past military deals that reached completion during the year, further increasing military spending.
This interplay between new orders and old contracts resulted in a cumulative impact on the nation’s military budget. It is noteworthy that analysts claim that spending levels in procurement cycles after conflict periods remain at a high level for several years. This is why Pakistan will continue its high military spending.
India Increases Military Budget after 2025 War With Pakistan
However, India too decided to increase its military budget after a war with Pakistan. The country allocated 8.9% more money towards defence, taking the total budget to $92.1 billion in 2025. According to SIPRI, this was because of post-war changes made by India after the May 2025 war between these two nuclear nations.
India and Pakistan have traditionally influenced weapon procurement due to the nature of their relations. It seems that the events in 2025 are following this pattern.
Global Military Spending Increases to $2.887 Trillion
The increasing defence budgets in Pakistan took place amid an overall upward trend of military expenditures across the globe. According to SIPRI, global military expenditures rose by 2.9% in 2025 to total $2.887 trillion. In this regard, the global trend had continued for 11 successive years with the notable exception that it grew at a much slower rate than it did in 2024.
There was also an increase in the world’s military expenditure. The defense budget went up from 2.4 percent to 2.5 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), and there was also an allocation of roughly 6.9 percent of total government budgets for military expenditure.
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Regional Growth Dominated by Europe and Asia
According to SIPRI, Europe and Asia have been responsible for driving defence expenditures in the world in 2025. The two regions have witnessed considerable growth as nations sought to address various security issues.
The US, the largest military spender in the world, managed to decrease its military spending for the period. In spite of this fact, the worldwide military expenditure continued to increase due to high growth rates among the countries in Europe and Asia. If the US is excluded, worldwide military expenditure showed an impressive growth of 9.2% in 2025.
Defence Spending in South Asia Is Still High
Indeed, according to the statistics presented above, it becomes clear that South Asia is still a region where defence spending is quite high. The military spending of Pakistan ($11.9 billion) and the budget of India ($92.1 billion) can be viewed as an indicator of the considerable portion of GDP spent on defence. It seems that defence spending will remain high until 2026 and beyond.
