By 2025, all NATO member states increased defense spending and for the first time reached or exceeded the defense spending target of 2% of GDP.
This is stated in the annual report of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Total defense spending for all 32 NATO member states in 2025 amounted to $1.4 trillion. This is 6% more than in 2024.
From 2024 to 2025, European countries and Canada increased defense spending by 19% to $574 billion.
The smallest share of GDP — 2% — was spent on defense financing last year by Spain, Portugal, Albania, Belgium, and Canada. The highest figure was in Poland (4.3% of GDP).
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Denmark also exceeded the 3% level.
Rutte noted that in the past, European members of the Alliance and Canada relied too much on the United States and did not take enough responsibility for their own security. Now, countries are actively investing in defense, which makes NATO stronger than ever before.
The Secretary General stressed that continuing this trend will be a priority for NATO in the coming years. He expressed his hope that the NATO summit in Ankara this July will allow for the development of the 2025 achievements.
- At the end of June 2025, Alliance leaders committed to investing 5% of GDP annually in defense and security-related spending by 2035. This was enshrined in the Hague Declaration adopted at the summit.
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