EXPLANATOR
The 32 members of the world's most powerful military alliance will spend $1.47 trillion this year.
NATO is holding its final three-day summit in Washington, DC, to mark its 75th anniversary.
On Wednesday, the world's most powerful military alliance formally declared that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path toward NATO membership and pledged to provide Kiev with at least $43 billion in military aid.
In 2006, the alliance's defense ministers agreed to allocate a minimum of 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending to ensure the alliance's military readiness.
Two-thirds of its members (23 out of 32) have now met this commitment and together will spend $1.47 trillion on defence this year. This represents an increase from the 10 countries that met the 2 per cent guideline in 2023 and the 3 countries that met the commitment in 2014.
Who are the 32 members of NATO?
NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 member states: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Its aim was to curb Soviet expansion and encourage political integration in Europe.
Over the past 75 years, its membership has grown to 32 members, with Finland and Sweden being the latest countries to join in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
How much does each NATO member spend?
In February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “By 2024, NATO Allies in Europe will spend a combined $380 billion on defence. For the first time, this is equivalent to 2 percent of their combined GDP.”
The United States remains by far the world's largest military spender. In dollar terms, it accounts for about two-thirds of NATO countries' annual defense spending, with an estimated budget of $967 billion.
This represents about 3.4 percent of the $28.7 trillion U.S. economy.
The next four biggest spenders in dollar terms are Germany ($97.7 billion), the UK ($82.1 billion), France ($64.3 billion) and Poland ($34.9 billion).
The infographic below shows the relationship between US NATO military spending compared to that of other NATO members, represented in constant 2015 US dollar prices.
In 2014, NATO allies in Europe and Canada spent $250 billion, or about 1.43 percent of their collective GDP, on defense. That figure has risen steadily over the past decade and is expected to reach $430 billion, or 2.02 percent, this year.
As a percentage of GDP, Poland (4.1 percent), Estonia (3.4 percent), the United States (3.4 percent), Latvia (3.2 percent) and Greece (3.1 percent) are the biggest spenders, while Spain (1.3 percent), Slovenia (1.3 percent), Luxembourg (1.3 percent), Belgium (1.3 percent) and Canada (1.4 percent) are the least.
Compared to 2014, Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary had the largest percentage increases in defense spending: Latvia and Lithuania increased their spending by more than 300 percent and Hungary increased it by 225 percent.
