NATO announces record military spending in 2024
Donald Trump claimed that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies that spend too little on defence. Following Trump's comments, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to meet NATO's 2% target. From the White House, US President Joe Biden called Trump's remarks "shameful and dangerous".
"This is urgently needed, however harsh the reality is, we do not live in peacetime." The chancellor's words reflect the current context of the Organisation. With this increase, Germany is regaining levels of spending that have not been seen in the country since 1992.
Iceland, the only member state without armed force, was excluded from the data set
However, countries have committed to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence each year to ensure the alliance's military preparedness and prevent possible attacks.
This condition is not a mandate but a guideline, a requirement, which has been in place for the past two decades. Last year, 11 countries met or exceeded this target, according to NATO statistics. The rest spent less than that percentage of their GDP on defence.
How much does each country spend?
All NATO members pay to cover the organisation's operating costs, with help from Canada and the United States. Although only 1 in 3 countries reaches 2%, with an average expenditure of 2.58%, NATO countries constitute the largest military force on the planet.
By 2023, global military spending will increase by 9%, reaching a record 2.2 trillion dollars
Poland, which shares part of its northern border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and much of its southeastern border with Ukraine, spent 3.9% of its GDP on defence last year, more than any other member state. The United States came second with 3.49%.
But in real terms, the US defence budget is 860 billion dollars, more than twice that of all other NATO allies combined. Other members spending more than 2% of GDP include Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Finland, NATO's newest member, which joined the alliance last year. Notably, many of the top-spending countries have laws or domestic policies that require 2% of defence spending to meet NATO objectives.
Countries far from Russia spend less than 2%. Some countries, including Germany, Italy and Canada, spend far less than this target, despite their large savings and GDP in excess of 1 trillion dollars.
Other countries, such as Luxembourg, may struggle to meet the benchmark due to the limited size of their military and defence industries. Most NATO allies spend more of their GDP on defence than they did in 2014. In the same year, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, raising tensions in Eastern Europe, and NATO doubled its 2% spending plan.
At the time, only three allies achieved this target. That number is expected to rise to seven by 2022. After Russia invaded Ukraine, defence spending rose sharply in several countries. Poland returned to the top spot, with defence spending rising from 2.4% to 3.9% of GDP.
In total, Poland spent more than 29 billion dollars on defence last year, almost 12 billion dollars more than in 2022 and three times more than a decade ago. France, Slovakia and Hungary also increased their defence spending in the wake of the Russian invasion.
Purpose of NATO spending
Defence spending trends in NATO countries will be discussed later Wednesday at a meeting of defence ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Around 20 of the bloc's 31 states are expected to reach the 2% target this year. The NATO group said the new figures represent a more than 20% increase in defence spending over the previous year.
Earlier this year, Turkey voted in favour of Sweden's accession after months of delay. Sweden, which is awaiting ratification by Hungary, hopes to join NATO as its 32nd member this year and has pledged to spend 2.1% of GDP. Some member states are spending more but have not yet passed the 2% threshold. Others have stagnated. But efforts to increase defence spending have not gone unnoticed.