NATO members report sharp rise in defense spending in 2025
The Facts
- NATO’s 2025 annual report says European member states and Canada increased defense spending by 19.6% to $574 billion.
- The report says seven NATO countries spent more than 3% of GDP on defense in 2025.
- The report says three NATO countries reached the alliance’s 3.5% core-defense spending target for 2035.
- NATO members agreed at the 2025 Hague summit on a new framework that includes 3.5% of GDP for core defense spending and 1.5% of GDP for defense-related spending.
- The report says all NATO members now meet or exceed the alliance’s longstanding 2% of GDP defense-spending target.
- Germany increased its defense spending by about 20% in the latest NATO report and its defense spending amounted to about 2.4% of GDP.
- The NATO report says U.S. defense spending remained higher than that of the European allies and Canada combined.
Context
What did NATO members agree to at the Hague summit?
They agreed on a new spending framework that calls for 3.5% of GDP for core defense spending and 1.5% of GDP for defense-related spending such as infrastructure and cybersecurity newsORF.at N-tv stern.de unternehmen-heute.de.
How does current NATO spending compare with the 2% target?
According to the report, all NATO members now meet or exceed the alliance’s 2% of GDP defense-spending target, which had originally been set in 2014 BRF Nachrichten stern.de stern.de China.org.cn.
Which countries are highlighted as spending the most relative to GDP?
The reporting says Poland, Lithuania and Latvia had the highest defense spending as a share of GDP, and those three countries were also among the ones that reached the 3.5% benchmark Deutschlandfunk China.org.cn Die Presse.
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