Germany’s defence spending: military budget, trends and structure
Reference page on Germany’s defence spending covering the size of the military budget, expenditure structure, spending trends and the role of defence within the state budget.
Defence spending: current figures
Please note that the spending on “Defence spending” in this article refers to the money allocated from the federal budget to the relevant ministry, “Bundesministerium der Verteidigung”, as a whole. This means the amounts shown include all funding for the ministry, covering every programme and administrative cost, not just specific projects within this area.
In 2026, federal budget spending on Ministry of Defense is 82 billion euros 1. This is about 15.76% of total federal spending.
Compared to the previous year, funding has increased by 32.7%. This change reflects current budget priorities and economic conditions.
Military budget of Germany: spending structure
Funding for “Defence spending” is divided between different programmes and categories. The spending structure shows which areas receive the most money and which are considered priorities within this field.
The table below breaks down spending by main categories. This helps you see which programmes are funded most and how the money is distributed in this area.
Table 1. German federal budget spending in 2026
for Bundesministerium der Verteidigung 2
| Type of spending | Spending million euros | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Verpflichtungen im Rahmen der Mitgliedschaft zur NATO und zu anderen internationalen Institutionen sowie Maßnahmen im Zusammenhang mit internationalen Einsätzen | 2,019.2 | 2.44% |
| Kommandobehörden und Truppen, Sozialversicherungsbeiträge, Fürsorgemaßnahmen und Versorgung für Soldatinnen und Soldaten | 21,528.5 | 26.04% |
| Wehrforschung, Entwicklung und Erprobung | 1,580.5 | 1.91% |
| Militärische Beschaffungen | 19,521.6 | 23.61% |
| Materialerhaltung der Bundeswehr | 7,664.3 | 9.27% |
| Sonstiger Betrieb der Bundeswehr | 7,356.6 | 8.90% |
| Unterbringung | 11,463.4 | 13.86% |
| Sonstige Bewilligungen | 59.8 | 0.07% |
| Zentral veranschlagte Verwaltungseinnahmen und -ausgaben | 1,995.4 | 2.41% |
| Bundesministerium | 333.9 | 0.40% |
| Bundeswehrverwaltung, Universitäten der Bundeswehr, Militärseelsorge usw. | 8,862.1 | 10.72% |
| Bundesamt für den Militärischen Abschirmdienst | 302.1 | 0.37% |
| TOTAL: | 82,687.3 | 100.00 |
Yearly changes in spending
To show long-term trends, below are figures for spending on Ministry of Defense over the last 10 years. This lets you see if current changes are temporary or part of a steady trend.
Table 2. Changes in German federal budget spending on Ministry of Defense for the last 10 years, from 2017 to 2026 3
| Year | Spending billion euros | Change from previous year billion euros and % | Change from 2017 billion euros and % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 37.0 | - | - | 0.0 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 38.5 | 1.5 | 4.09% | 1.5 | 4.09% |
| 2019 | 43.2 | 4.7 | 12.22% | 6.2 | 16.82% |
| 2020 | 45.1 | 1.8 | 4.22% | 8.0 | 21.75% |
| 2021 | 46.9 | 1.9 | 4.17% | 9.9 | 26.82% |
| 2022 | 50.4 | 3.5 | 7.40% | 13.4 | 36.21% |
| 2023 | 50.1 | -0.3 | -0.57% | 13.1 | 35.43% |
| 2024 | 51.8 | 1.7 | 3.36% | 14.8 | 39.98% |
| 2025 | 62.3 | 10.5 | 20.28% | 25.3 | 68.38% |
| 2026 | 82.7 | 20.4 | 32.71% | 45.7 | 123.45% |
Germany’s defence spending, analysis, current situation
In 2026, federal budget spending on the Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (Federal Ministry of Defence) is about 82 billion euros in the main budget. In addition, there is ongoing funding from a special fund set up after 2022 to modernise the Bundeswehr. This makes defence one of the largest areas of federal spending.
The money is used for personnel costs, buying military equipment and weapons, modernising infrastructure, international missions and Germany’s participation in collective security programmes. A large part of spending goes towards updating equipment and meeting NATO commitments.
Defence funding has increased significantly in recent years. After a long period of stable budgets, there was a sharp rise due to changes in foreign policy and a focus on strengthening national defence. This has led to a much larger share of defence in the federal budget compared to ten years ago.
The current level of funding reflects a long-term strategy to modernise the armed forces and move towards defence spending of around 2% of GDP.
Notes on data sources
- Total spending in 2026: Data taken from the official publication of the federal budget law in Bundesgesetzblatt (Haushaltsgesetz 2026 – HG 2026)
- Note on Table 1: Data taken from the official publication of the federal budget plan Bundeshaushaltsplan 2026
- Note on Tables 1 and 2: The figures shown are SOLL-Werte — planned spending figures approved by law for each year. They show officially planned amounts rather than final actual spending. If changes are needed during the year, a Nachtragshaushalt — a supplementary (amended) budget — can be passed. This adjusts spending according to new economic conditions. Any such changes are already included in these tables if they were made. Since budgets can be officially updated during the year if needed, final actual spending usually does not differ much from these revised planned figures. This means SOLL-values can be used as a reliable guide for analysing budget trends.
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