The latest figures
There is no single figure for Russia's military spending. There are at least two measures — the federal budget's National Defence chapter and SIPRI's estimate of military expenditure — and each comes as a plan before the year and as an outturn after it. The table shows the latest figure of each kind, with what it measures and how firm it is.
| Measure | Year | ₽ bn | % of GDP | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Defence chapter | 2021 | 3,573.6 | 2.7 | actual: the last full outturn published |
| National Defence chapter | 2025 | 13,574.8 | 6.3 | allocation in the budget as amended in November 2025 |
| National Defence chapter | 2026 | 12,121.0 | 5.2 | allocation in the budget law |
| National Defence chapter | 2027 | 17,147.4 | 6.9 | draft submitted to the State Duma, 30 September 2026 |
| SIPRI military expenditure | 2025 | 15,963.6 | 7.5 | SIPRI estimate, built on the amended 2025 budget |
The shares use Rosstat's GDP for 2021 and 2025, the GDP assumed by the 2026 budget law for 2026 and the finance ministry's September 2026 forecast for 2027; SIPRI uses the IMF's GDP. In dollars, SIPRI puts Russia's 2025 spending at $190.4 billion at that year's exchange rates, the third-largest military budget in the world. Any dollar figure for a plan depends on the rate chosen: at the ministry's own forecast of ₽87.4 to the dollar, ₽17.15 trillion in 2027 is about $196 billion.
Why different sources give different numbers
Four distinctions explain most of the disagreement between published figures.
- What is counted. National Defence is chapter 02 of the federal budget: the armed forces, mobilisation preparation, the nuclear weapons complex, military research and related programmes. SIPRI starts from that chapter and adds what its international definition includes: military pensions, the National Guard and the FSB Border Service, the defence ministry's spending on housing, healthcare and education, and social payments to service personnel. Its total is therefore higher than the chapter's.
- Plan or outturn. Russia adopts a three-year budget each autumn and amends it during the year: the 2025 budget was amended twice. A figure for the current or a coming year is an allocation, not money spent.
- Open or classified. The 2026 budget law shows only the open part of the chapter; the rest sits in an appendix marked secret. The execution laws for 2022, 2023 and 2024 list spending by chapter in a secret appendix, and the finance ministry's annual data leave National Defence blank from 2022. The Federal Treasury reports only the open part: ₽4,343.1 billion of National Defence spending in 2025. SIPRI estimates that classified spending made up about 79% of the chapter in 2025.
- Currency and GDP. A dollar figure moves with the rouble as well as with spending: SIPRI's 2025 figure rose 27% in dollars but 5.9% in real terms, because the rouble strengthened. Shares of GDP depend on which GDP is used, and Rosstat revises its estimates.
Figures that circulate without a stated definition, period and status are best treated as unverified.
Russia's military spending over time
The two series below are kept apart on purpose. They measure different things, and joining them would create a jump that never happened.
SIPRI military expenditure, 2000–2025. SIPRI's series for Russia begins in 1992; the table starts in 2000. Rouble amounts are at current prices, dollar amounts at each year's exchange rate.
| Year | ₽ bn | $ bn | % of GDP | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 259.6 | 9.2 | 3.3 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2001 | 340.8 | 11.7 | 3.5 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2002 | 437.1 | 13.9 | 3.8 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2003 | 521.0 | 17.0 | 3.7 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2004 | 603.8 | 21.0 | 3.3 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2005 | 773.2 | 27.3 | 3.3 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2006 | 938.6 | 34.5 | 3.2 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2007 | 1,113.7 | 43.5 | 3.1 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2008 | 1,396.3 | 56.2 | 3.1 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2009 | 1,635.7 | 51.5 | 3.9 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2010 | 1,783.2 | 58.7 | 3.6 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2011 | 2,063.7 | 70.2 | 3.4 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2012 | 2,512.5 | 81.5 | 3.7 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2013 | 2,812.9 | 88.4 | 3.9 | SIPRI figure |
| 2014 | 3,250.5 | 84.7 | 4.1 | SIPRI figure |
| 2015 | 4,047.6 | 66.4 | 4.9 | SIPRI figure |
| 2016 | 4,644.8 | 69.3 | 5.4 | SIPRI figure |
| 2017 | 3,902.4 | 66.9 | 4.2 | SIPRI figure |
| 2018 | 3,863.5 | 61.6 | 3.7 | SIPRI figure |
| 2019 | 4,217.1 | 65.1 | 3.8 | SIPRI figure |
| 2020 | 4,462.1 | 61.9 | 4.1 | SIPRI figure |
| 2021 | 4,855.2 | 65.9 | 3.6 | SIPRI figure |
| 2022 | 7,150.0 | 104.4 | 4.6 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2023 | 9,300.0 | 109.2 | 5.3 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2024 | 13,827.5 | 149.4 | 6.9 | SIPRI estimate |
| 2025 | 15,963.6 | 190.4 | 7.5 | SIPRI estimate |
The 2016 peak includes a one-off repayment of defence-industry debt. Between 2021 and 2025 SIPRI's figure rose from 3.6% to 7.5% of GDP; in real terms, in constant 2024 dollars, it grew by 131%.
The federal budget's National Defence chapter, 2011–2029. Actual spending comes from the finance ministry's annual execution data, which start in 2011 in their current classification. Since 2022 the chapter's full outturn has not been published; its total appears only as an allocation.
| Year | ₽ bn | % of GDP | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,516.0 | 2.5 | actual |
| 2012 | 1,812.4 | 2.7 | actual |
| 2013 | 2,103.6 | 2.9 | actual |
| 2014 | 2,479.1 | 3.1 | actual |
| 2015 | 3,181.4 | 3.8 | actual |
| 2016 | 3,775.3 | 4.4 | actual |
| 2017 | 2,852.3 | 3.1 | actual |
| 2018 | 2,827.0 | 2.7 | actual |
| 2019 | 2,997.4 | 2.7 | actual |
| 2020 | 3,168.8 | 2.9 | actual |
| 2021 | 3,573.6 | 2.7 | actual |
| 2022 | — | — | actual not published in full |
| 2023 | — | — | actual not published in full |
| 2024 | — | — | actual not published in full |
| 2025 | 13,574.8 | 6.3 | allocation, budget as amended; actual not published in full |
| 2026 | 12,121.0 | 5.2 | allocation, budget law |
| 2027 | 17,147.4 | 6.9 | plan, draft budget |
| 2028 | 16,607.9 | 6.3 | plan, draft budget |
| 2029 | 16,295.8 | 5.8 | plan, draft budget |
Shares of GDP for actual years use Rosstat's current estimates. In the last pre-war year, 2021, the chapter took 14.4% of federal spending; the 2025 allocation took 32.1%.
2026: this year's defence budget
The federal budget law for 2026–2028 (No. 426-FZ of 28 November 2025) allocates ₽12,121.0 billion to National Defence, 27.5% of planned federal spending and 5.2% of the GDP the law assumes. That is ₽809.5 billion less than the draft submitted in September 2025, and 10.7% below the amended allocation for 2025, while the social policy chapter grew by ₽735.2 billion between the draft and the law. SIPRI, adding the items its definition includes, estimates planned military expenditure for 2026 at ₽14.9 trillion, or 6.3% of GDP.
The allocation is not a forecast of what will be spent. A law of 26 June 2026 allows the government, within limits, to raise federal spending without amending the budget law, and the finance ministry now expects federal spending of ₽48,527.2 billion in 2026, ₽4.46 trillion more than the law provides. How much of that goes to defence has not been published. The open part of the chapter shows the direction: by 1 July 2026 its working allocation had been raised from ₽2,934.4 billion in the law to ₽3,405.5 billion, and ₽2,241.2 billion of it had been spent, according to the Federal Treasury.
2027: the draft budget
The government submitted the draft budget for 2027–2029 to the State Duma on 30 September 2026. In the finance ministry's accompanying tables, the National Defence chapter is planned at ₽17,147.4 billion in 2027, ₽16,607.9 billion in 2028 and ₽16,295.8 billion in 2029. The 2027 figure is 35.2% of planned federal spending of ₽48,740.4 billion and 6.9% of forecast GDP.
The 2027 plan is 26.9% above the ₽13,512.5 billion that the 2026 budget law had set for 2027, and 41.5% above the 2026 allocation, although actual 2026 spending is likely to exceed its allocation. These are planned figures in a bill the Duma has yet to pass and can amend; they say nothing yet about what will be spent.
Russia's military spending as a share of GDP
By SIPRI's measure, Russia spent 7.5% of GDP on its military in 2025, up from 3.6% in 2021. The National Defence chapter alone was allocated 6.3% of GDP in 2025, against an actual 2.7% in 2021. The 2026 budget law plans 5.2% for the chapter and the 2027 draft 6.9%.
The denominator matters. A plan's share is measured against forecast GDP: if the economy grows more slowly than the ministry expects, the same allocation is a larger share. Rosstat revises past GDP, and SIPRI uses the IMF's figures, so two honest calculations for the same year can differ by a few tenths of a percentage point.
How Russia pays for it
National Defence is the largest chapter of the federal budget, and its growth since 2022 is a large part of why the federal budget has been in deficit every year since the invasion. The money comes from oil and gas revenue; other taxes, such as VAT, raised to 22% in 2026; domestic borrowing through OFZ bonds; and the liquid part of the National Wealth Fund. That chain is the subject of the guide to how Russia finances the war; the gap itself is explained in the guide to the budget deficit and tracked on the deficit indicator page.
What the number means and what it does not
Military spending measures what the state allocates or pays. It does not measure military capability: the same roubles buy less as prices in the defence industry rise, and the published figures do not show how the money is split between pay, equipment and repairs. It does not show how long the war can go on, or whether the economy can sustain it; that depends on revenue, borrowing and reserves, which this monitor follows through the eight indicators of its strength index. Military spending is not one of those eight.
Nor is it the whole cost of the war. SIPRI's estimate leaves out regional governments' spending, such as sign-up bonuses for recruits; the federal budget's spending on occupied Ukrainian territory; and the war's costs to the economy outside the budget. The wider picture is in the Russia war economy overview and the guide Russia's war economy explained.
Sources and methodology
Every figure on this page comes from a primary document, read for this guide:
- National Defence outturn for 2011–2021: the finance ministry's federal budget execution data.
- Allocations for 2025 (as amended) and 2026–2028 (the law): the finance ministry's Budget for Citizens for the 2026–2028 budget law, which publishes the chapter totals the law itself does not; the law is No. 426-FZ.
- The 2027–2029 draft, total spending and the GDP forecast: the finance ministry's Main Directions of Budget, Tax and Customs Policy for 2027–2029; the submission to the Duma: the government's announcement.
- The open part of the chapter: the Federal Treasury's execution reports.
- The 26 June 2026 law on raising spending: the Kremlin's publication.
- GDP: Rosstat's national accounts.
- SIPRI: the Military Expenditure Database (April 2026 edition), its sources and methods, the 2025 fact sheet and Julian Cooper's analysis of Russia's 2026 budget, the source of SIPRI's component breakdown and its 2026 estimate.
Percentages of GDP and changes are our own calculations from these figures. SIPRI revises its series every April, and its latest year is based on a budget rather than an outturn. Rosstat revises GDP. This page is updated when a budget law, a draft budget, an execution report or a SIPRI release changes a figure; the review date is at the top.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Russia spend on its military? For 2025, SIPRI estimates ₽15.96 trillion, about $190 billion, or 7.5% of GDP. The narrower National Defence chapter of the budget was allocated ₽13.57 trillion.
What is Russia's defence budget for 2026? The 2026 budget law allocates ₽12.12 trillion to National Defence, 5.2% of the GDP the law assumes. Actual spending is likely to be higher.
How much does Russia plan to spend on defence in 2027? The draft budget submitted on 30 September 2026 plans ₽17.15 trillion for National Defence in 2027, 6.9% of forecast GDP. It is a plan and may change before the law is passed.
What percentage of GDP does Russia spend on defence? About 7.5% in 2025 by SIPRI's measure, and 6.3% for the National Defence chapter alone.
How much has Russia's military spending increased since 2021? SIPRI's figure rose from ₽4.86 trillion in 2021 to ₽15.96 trillion in 2025, and from 3.6% to 7.5% of GDP; in real terms it grew by 131%.
Why do SIPRI and Russian budget numbers differ? SIPRI counts more than the National Defence chapter, including military pensions and paramilitary forces, and it publishes estimates where Russia classifies the figures.