NATO Allies Top $1.5 Trillion as All Hit 2% Defense Goal

NATO expects its 32 members to spend more than $1.5 trillion on defense in 2025, and for the first time all allies will reach the alliance’s longstanding benchmark of allocating at least 2 % of gross domestic product to military budgets, according to new figures released on Thursday. The milestone follows a series of budget increases accelerated by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and persistent pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for European nations to shoulder more of their own defense. While overall spending is rising, only Poland, Lithuania and Latvia currently exceed the new interim target of devoting 3.5 % of GDP to core defense outlays, with shares of 4.48 %, 4.0 % and 3.73 % respectively. At a June summit in The Hague, leaders agreed to lift defense and security-related expenditures—including cyber resilience and infrastructure upgrades—to 5 % of GDP by 2035. Visiting a Rheinmetall ammunition factory in Germany, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the additional funding but cautioned that “cash alone doesn’t provide security,” saying the alliance must translate higher budgets into deployable capabilities amid assessments that Moscow could test NATO’s readiness within the next few years.