In the public debate it is regularly claimed that the Bundeswehr is underfunded or has been ruined by long-term austerity measures. This is also why the 100 billion euro special fund (Sondervermögen) for the Bundeswehr was passed. But these judgments could not be further from the truth.
However a closer look at the finances reveals an opposing picture. Germany's military spending as a share of GDP fluctuates.
In total Germany's military spending has been either stable in nominal and inflation-adjusted terms in the recent past (2006 to 2014) or even increased (2015 to 2023). It should be noted here that this proves rising military spending not only since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. In fact Germany's military spending has been rising since 2014.
This development becomes even more clear when one relates Germany's military spending to the number of soldiers. Since the number of soldiers in the Bundeswehr has been falling for a long time Germany's military spending per soldier is rising even more steeply than Germany's military spending in total.
The question inevitably arises as to why Germany's military spending may still not enough. Obviously the Bundeswehr has less of a problem with a lack of money. Apparently the Bundeswehr as a whole cannot handle money.
Src:[1] Militärausgaben von Deutschland von 1953 bis 2023
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/183064/umfrage/militaerausgaben-von-deutschland/
[2] Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) in Deutschland von 1950 bis 2023
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/4878/umfrage/bruttoinlandsprodukt-von-deutschland-seit-dem-jahr-1950/
[3] Inflationsrate in Deutschland von 1950 bis 2023
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/4917/umfrage/inflationsrate-in-deutschland-seit-1948/
[4] Anzahl der Soldaten und Soldatinnen bei der Bundeswehr von 2000 bis 2024
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/38401/umfrage/personalbestand-der-bundeswehr-seit-2000/
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