NATO says defence spending rose 20% to $574bn in 2025

BRUSSELS: A NATO report on Thursday said military spending by member states rose by a fifth year-on-year in 2025 to $574 billion.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought higher defence spending by the 32 member states and said Europe should be primarily responsible for its own security.

The NATO report said all members are now above the target of allocating at least 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product to military spending, a goal set in 2014 for 2024.

Since then, under pressure from Trump, NATO set a new target last year – 5 percent by 2035.

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“I expect Allies at the next NATO Summit in Ankara to show they are on a clear and credible path towards the 5 percent,” NATO Secretary General and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said.

Only three countries met the 3.5 percent target last year – Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.

All NATO countries increased their military spending last year, but three of them saw a slight drop in the share of spending relative to their GDP.

The United States went from 3.30 percent in 2024 to 3.19 percent, the Czech Republic from 2.07 percent to 2.01 percent, and Hungary from 2.21 percent to 2.07 percent.