Heritage Foundation Vice President of National Security Victoria Coates discusses the success of U.S. strikes on key Iranian sites and NATO leaders agreeing to increase defense spending on Mornings with Maria.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its annual summit last week and nearly all the defense alliance’s members committed to boosting defense spending above their previously agreed-upon threshold.
In 2014, NATO members unanimously committed to spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense to ensure all members of the alliance are doing enough to ensure NATO can fulfill its collective defense responsibilities. The 2% threshold was to be met by 2024 and came as a response to Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
At last week’s meeting, nearly all NATO members agreed to raise their defense spending target to 5% by 2035, with that figure including core defense requirements as well as other defense and security-related spending, with 3.5% going to core defense requirements to meet NATO’s capability goals. One NATO member, Spain, opted out of the new threshold, saying it can meet its military requirements for NATO by spending just 2.1% of GDP.
While not all NATO members met the original 2% threshold for defense spending as a percentage of GDP by last year 2024, a record number did so. With all but one of NATO’s 32 members agreeing to the new 5% threshold over the next decade, the alliance’s financial commitment to defense spending has strengthened.
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NATO members raised their defense spending goal from 2% of GDP to 5% of GDP by 2035, with only one member opting out. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Here are the top five countries with the highest defense spending as a percentage of GDP, according to data released by NATO for 2024:
#5) Greece
Greece’s military spending reached 3.08% of GDP in 2024, based on NATO’s estimated figures from last year.
The Greek defense budget has been above the 2% threshold each year since 2014 and reached a recent high of 3.88% in 2022 before declining under 3% in 2023, prior to last year’s rebound.
A soldier salutes while participating in the U.S.-led “LIVEX Immediate Response 2025” military exercise, with the participation of forces from Greece, France, Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Albania, near Xanthi, Greece, June (REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki / Reuters)
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#4) Latvia
Defense spending by Latvia accounted for 3.15% of the Baltic nation’s GDP in 2024, according to NATO’s figures.
The country has made significant strides in ramping up its spending over the last decade, as it was only at 0.94% of GDP in 2014 and then surpassed the 2% threshold in 2018.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress leads a formation of (left to right): two Turkish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, two Spanish Air Force F-18 Hornets, two Spanish Air Force AV-8B Harriers, two U.S. Marine AV-8B Harriers, and two Swedish Air Forc (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Elton Taylor / 24th MEU / DVIDS / Fox News)
#3) United States of America
U.S. defense spending was 3.38% of GDP in 2024, based on NATO’s figures. America’s defense spending has been above 3% since NATO devised the 2% threshold in 2014, when it was at 3.71%.
In dollar terms, the U.S. spends by far the most on defense among NATO members. The alliance’s report from last year showed the U.S. spending $967 billion on defense and related expenditures in 2024, while the next closest member was Germany at $97 billion (or 2.12% of German GDP).
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#2) Estonia
Estonia’s defense spending rose to 3.43% of GDP in 2024, the highest level in at least a decade, per NATO’s report.
The Baltic nation was just below the 2% threshold at the time the 2014 commitment was agreed upon, but met the threshold the following year and moved above 3% in 2023 for the first time in the tracking period.
A Bradley infantry fighting vehicle of the U.S. Army rides M3 amphibious rigs of the German/British Amphibious Engineer Battalion 130 while crossing the Vistula River during the NATO Dragon 24 military exercise near Gniew, Poland, on March 4, 2024. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images / Getty Images)
#1) Poland
Poland’s defense spending as a share of GDP was the highest among NATO members in 2024, reaching 4.12% of GDP.
Polish defense spending was at 1.88% of GDP in 2014 but quickly moved above the 2% threshold the following year and rose to 3.26% by 2023 before rising further last year.
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