Stockholm, Jun 8: India was the fifth largest military spender in the world, with an expenditure of USD 92.1 billion in 2025, according to a report by an international think-tank, which also mentioned the “unusually severe military crisis” that erupted between India and Pakistan last year.
In its annual assessment report launched on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) also said that India has approximately 190 nuclear warheads as of January 2026, compared to Pakistan’s estimated stockpile of 170.
“Key findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2026 are that states are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of national power — reversing decades of efforts to reduce the numbers and role of nuclear weapons — even as the risks of miscalculation and escalation are rising,” SIPRI said in a statement.
The Stockholm-based think-tank said India is believed to have once again “slightly expanded its nuclear arsenal” in 2025 and continued development of new types of nuclear delivery systems.
“The modernisation programme is increasingly focused on developing long-range weapons capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning also continues to be focused on India’s long-standing rivalry with Pakistan,” it said.
SIPRI further said, “Pakistan continued to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile material in 2025, suggesting that its nuclear arsenal might expand over the coming decade”.
“The brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 saw India attacking Pakistani air and missile bases that are likely to have nuclear-related roles, but both sides took steps to avoid escalation,” it added.
This edition of the SIPRI Yearbook coincides with the 60th anniversary of its founding in 1966.
At the start of 2026, nine states — the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — together possessed approximately 12,187 nuclear weapons, of which 9,745 were in military stockpiles and considered to be potentially operationally available, the report said.
Overall, the number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline, but this is only due to the US and Russia “dismantling retired warheads,” the report said.
According to the report, the US remained by far the largest military spender in the world; its expenditure of USD 954 billion in 2025 (7.5 per cent lower than in 2024) accounted for 33 per cent of total global spending.
China is the second largest military spender (USD 336 billion), while Russia stands at the third (USD 190 billion).
Germany was the fourth largest military spender, and India was at the fifth spot, with an expenditure of USD 92.1 billion in 2025, an increase of 8.9 per cent over the last year, according to data shared in the report.
“Taken together, the 15 largest military spenders accounted for 80 per cent of the world’s military expenditure in 2025 (USD 2304 billion),” it said, noting that many of them were involved — either directly or indirectly — in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine in 2025.
The estimated global military expenditure rose for the 11th consecutive year in 2025, to reach USD 2.9 trillion — or 2.5 per cent of the world’s GDP — pushing world spending to the highest level recorded by SIPRI, the report said.
SIPRI said several critical regional flashpoints remained “at risk of escalating into major interstate armed conflicts; for example, an unusually severe military crisis erupted between India and Pakistan in May 2025”.
The think-tank said it has identified 162 states as recipients of major arms in 2021–25. The five largest recipients were Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, which together accounted for 35 per cent of total arms imports in the period.
It further said cyber operations continued to evolve as an integral component of modern conflict over the year, citing Russia and Ukraine as notable examples.
“India and Pakistan overtly integrating cyber operations into armed conflict for the first time when an unusually severe military crisis erupted in May 2025; and Iran and Israel employing coordinated digital retaliation during their confrontation,” it added.
In its list of major events, the report mentioned “May 7-10 India and Pakistan exchange intense cross-border fire”.
SIPRI said over the course of the past two decades, there has been a gradual shift away from the liberal paradigm of peacemaking that previously dominated conflict resolution efforts towards a “more power-based and transactional approach”.
In 2025, the global landscape of armed conflict retained the form it took in 2024, with large-scale and sustained violence across multiple regions. The number of locations of armed conflict fell slightly, from 50 states in 2024 to 49 in 2025. (PTI)
