NATO Spending by Country

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more commonly known as NATO, is an intricate network designed to ensure the security and freedom of its members through a solid, cooperative commitment to defense and conflict resolution. With its foundation deeply rooted in post-World World II soil, this international military alliance plays a crucial role in preserving global stability. Every member, all 30 of them, individually contributing to the shared defense budget reflects the essence of this cooperation.

One of the landmark resolutions of the 2014 summit was an agreement by all NATO members to dedicate at least 2% of their respective GDPs toward defense by the year 2025. However, achieving this ambitious goal has been a gradual process with varying degrees of success across different nations.

Key findings from the data include:

• Greece leads the pack in terms of military spending relative to their GDP, committing 3.82%, followed closely by the United States, which spends 3.52% of its GDP on defense.
• As of the data provided, ten nations now meet the agreed 2% spending target, a marked increase from only four in 2017, indicating a trend toward increased commitment to shared defense responsibilities.
• The majority of NATO countries still fall short of the 2% objective, with Spain and Luxembourg at the lower end of the scale, spending 1.02% and 0.57% of their GDPs on defense, respectively.
• Notably, some of the larger economies, such as Germany and Canada, lag behind in meeting their commitment, with defense spending resting at 1.53% and 1.39% of their GDPs respectively.