Defense spending by GDP of NATO member countries

Country But it has committed to spending at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense each year, with the goal of ensuring the alliance’s military readiness and deterring potential attacks. This approach is a guideline, not a requirement, that has been in place for nearly 20 years.

Eleven countries met or exceeded that goal last year, according to NATO statistics. The rest spent a smaller portion of GDP on defense. (Iceland, the only member state without an army, is excluded from the dataset.)

Most of the countries with spending above 2% border Russia or are located near the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Trump’s insinuation that they are not paying their share is false.

Poland, which shares part of its northern border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and a long stretch of its southeastern border with Ukraine, spent more on defense as a percentage of GDP than any other member state last year. It was high at 3.9%.

The United States ranked second at 3.49%.But in raw numbers, $860 billion The US defense budget is more than twice that of all other NATO allies combined.

Other member states spending more than 2% of GDP include Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and new NATO member Finland, which joined the alliance last year. (It is worth noting that most of the big spending countries have domestic laws or policies mandating her 2% defense spending in accordance with NATO goals.)

Countries further from Russia were more likely to spend less than the 2% guideline. Some countries, such as Germany, Italy and Canada, fell far short of that goal despite their large economies with GDPs exceeding $1 trillion. Other countries, such as Luxembourg, may struggle to meet this standard because of the limited size of their militaries and defense industries.

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Most NATO allies are spending a higher percentage of their GDP on defense than they did in 2014. That year, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, raising tensions in Eastern Europe and prompting NATO to double its 2% spending target.

At the time, only three allies were able to achieve that goal. That number will increase to seven countries in 2022. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February of the same year, defense spending in several countries skyrocketed.

Poland again topped the list, with defense spending surging from 2.4% to 3.9% of GDP. In total, Poland spent more than $29 billion on defense last year, nearly $12 billion more than it would spend in 2022 and triple what it spent a decade ago. France, Slovakia, Hungary, and several other countries also gradually increased their defense spending after the Russian invasion.

Earlier this year, Turkey voted in favor of Sweden’s membership after months of delay. Pending Hungary’s ratification, Sweden is set to join NATO this year as its 32nd member, pledging to spend 2.1% of its GDP.

Although some member states have increased spending, they have not yet exceeded the 2% level. Others remained flat. However, pressure to increase defense spending cannot be ignored.

Following President Trump’s remarks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged on Monday to meet NATO’s 2% goal. “We need that urgently,” Scholz said. “No matter how harsh this reality may be, we do not live in peaceful times.”