When NATO leaders gather in the Turkish capital Ankara next week for what is expected to be a landmark two-day summit, defense spending and talks on the need to boost investments are widely expected to take center stage.
For the first time since the 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) benchmark was codified at the 2014 Wales summit, all 32 NATO member states met or exceeded that threshold in 2025.
Yet even as European allies mark that milestone, the target has already been doubled, as the June 2025 Hague summit committed all allies to spending 5% of GDP by 2035.
Other key items for the Ankara summit include further assistance to Ukraine, defense spending road maps and the long-term direction of the alliance.
The gathering convenes under significant internal strain. Since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House in 2025 for a second term, the alliance has faced an unprecedented rift between Washington and most other allies. In March, Trump called NATO allies "cowards" for declining to support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran, dismissing the alliance as a "paper tiger" that would be ineffective without U.S. involvement.
A few weeks ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told his NATO counterparts in Brussels that while many allies are following through on commitments made in The Hague, others "still need to do more."
Here is a full breakdown of where every ally stands, based on 2025 defense spending figures sourced from a NATO press release, and what the numbers mean.
Poland 4.48%
Poland leads the alliance in hitting the 5% mark. Its defense budget has surged since the Russia-Ukraine war began next door in 2022, driven by a national law that mandates a minimum floor of 4% of GDP.
Poland shares a 434-kilometer (270-mile) border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave and a 210-kilometer border with Belarus, one of Russia’s chief allies in the war.
In three years, Poland has acquired F-35 fighter jets, K2 tanks, HIMARS rocket artillery, and Patriot air defense systems at a pace that has drawn admiration and anxiety from allied defense ministries alike.
At 4.48% of GDP, Poland is spending nearly as much proportionally as the U.S. did at the height of the Cold War.
Lithuania 4%
Lithuania's defense budget has grown more than fivefold since 2014, the most dramatic proportional expansion of any NATO member.
The Baltic country hosts one of NATO's multinational Enhanced Forward Presence battle groups on its territory and is acutely aware of the threat from Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, which borders the country.
Latvia 3.73%
Latvia has already exceeded the new 3.5% core-defense tier set by the 2025 Hague summit, a full decade ahead of the 2035 deadline. Latvia shares a border with Russia and hosts another of NATO's eastern flank battle groups.
Estonia 3.38%
Estonia shares an approximately 340-kilometer border with Russia and is consistently one of NATO's most committed per capita spenders. Its defense budget trajectory mirrors that of Latvia and Lithuania. All three Baltic states bordering their much larger neighbor, Russia, have transformed their militaries since 2022 into forces designed for high-intensity conflict against a major power.
Norway 3.35%
Norway achieved a historic milestone in 2025: For the first time in recorded NATO history, a European ally surpassed the U.S. in defense spending per capita. Norway also shares a border with Russia and has invested heavily in Arctic surveillance, naval capabilities and ground forces. Its high per capita income amplifies the effect of its spending commitment.
U.S. 3.22%
The U.S. remains the alliance's dominant military power by almost every measure. Its total national defense spending in 2025 reached approximately $838 billion, or roughly 60% of NATO's combined nominal spend, even though the U.S. accounts for only around 43% of the alliance's combined GDP.
The U.S. direct contribution to NATO's collective operating budget – the pool that funds headquarters, command structures, and shared infrastructure – is 14.9% of the 5.3 billion euros ($6 billion) common-funded budget in 2026.
That amounts to roughly $750 million-$800 million annually, or just under 0.1% of the U.S. national defense budget.
Denmark 3.22%
Denmark has significantly increased its defense budget since 2022 and has announced plans to reach 3.5% ahead of the 2035 deadline.
Greece 2.85%
Greece has historically maintained high defense spending relative to its GDP, driven in part by long-running tensions with fellow NATO member Türkiye over territorial and airspace disputes in the Aegean. It was one of the earliest allies to meet the 2% target.
Finland 2.77%
Finland joined NATO in April 2023 after the start of the war in Ukraine. It shares a long 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, the longest of any NATO ally, and has built its defense posture around that reality for decades, with the USSR’s successful invasion in 1939-1940 still long remembered. Its spending reflects post-Ukraine urgency and a long tradition of credible territorial defense.
Sweden 2.51%
Sweden joined NATO in March 2024 as the alliance's 32nd and newest member. Its defense spending has risen rapidly since applying for membership and is expected to continue increasing as it integrates into alliance structures.
Netherlands 2.49%
The Netherlands met the 2% target for the first time since the early 1990s in 2024 and has announced plans to reach 3.5% by 2035. It is among the allies that saw the most sustained period of under-investment relative to the benchmark before the Ukraine inflection point.
U.K. 2.40%
The U.K. is NATO's third-largest absolute spender at approximately $90.5 billion. It is one of only two nuclear-armed European allies. Despite domestic fiscal pressures, the U.K. has maintained spending above the 2% floor and has been among the most active supporters of Ukraine.
Türkiye 2.33%
Türkiye operates NATO's second-largest army by personnel and contributes approximately $32.6 billion in defense spending.
Its strategic position, controlling access between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea through the Turkish Straits under the Montreux Convention, makes it militarily indispensable to the alliance.
The July 7-8 Ankara summit is taking place in Türkiye's capital, a choice that reflects both its infrastructure readiness and its growing strategic weight within NATO.
Romania 2.28%
Romania occupies a strategically critical position on NATO's eastern flank, with a significant Black Sea coastline that has become a central theater of European security since 2022. Defense spending has risen sharply since the war in Ukraine began.
France 2.05%
France is NATO's second nuclear-armed European ally and the third-largest absolute spender in Europe at approximately $66.5 billion. Its nuclear capability gives it a strategic weight that GDP percentages alone cannot capture. France has maintained a strong upward spending trajectory in recent years.
Canada 2.01%
Canada has long been NATO's most prominent laggard on burden-sharing, repeatedly falling short of the 2% target despite repeated pressure from Washington. It reached approximately $43.9 billion and crossed the 2% line in 2025. The political pressure has been amplified under Trump's second term.
Germany 2%
Germany is Europe's second-largest absolute defense spender at approximately $93.7 billion, according to 2024 data.
Then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz's 2022 Zeitenwende (historic turning point) unlocked a 100 billion euro special defense fund and has driven sustained budget increases. Germany's 2025 figures were not complete in NATO's reporting, but the trajectory is firmly upward.
Remaining NATO members
Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia all met the 2% threshold in 2025 after years of falling short.
Italy, the alliance's fourth-largest economy, crossed 2% for the first time since the 2014 Wales summit set the target.
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, and North Macedonia are estimated to have reached exactly 2% in 2025.
Belgium's achievement was particularly notable: the country, which hosts NATO's headquarters in Brussels, pushed through a 59% spending increase in a single year to cross the line.
Spain is the only ally formally exempted from the new 5% Hague target, having negotiated a cap of 2.1% of GDP. It had strongly resisted the 5% target, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling it "not only unreasonable, but also counterproductive.”
Luxembourg, which hosts NATO's Civil Budget Administration, had been one of the alliance's most persistent underspenders for years before reaching the 2% floor by 2025.
Iceland, which has no standing military, contributes to NATO through civilian and infrastructure means.
NATO's budget
A persistent confusion in public debate is the distinction between NATO's collective operating budget and the total defense spending of allied nations.
NATO's common-funded budget covers headquarters operations, the permanent command structure, shared military infrastructure, and current operations. For 2026, this budget stands at up to 5.3 billion euros.
The common-funded budget is less than 0.4% of the total allied defense spending of over $1.4 trillion. The U.S. direct contribution to the common pool in 2026 is 14.9%, the same share as Germany’s.
The U.S. accounts for approximately 60% of total NATO nominal defense spending while making up roughly 43% of the alliance's combined GDP.
This imbalance has been at the center of American complaints for years, intensifying markedly under Trump's second term. Trump has argued that European allies benefit from a security umbrella underwritten by American power without contributing proportionally.
Europeans have pushed back on this proposition vigorously.
They argue that much of the U.S. defense budget funds global power-projection interests well beyond Europe, such as Pacific deterrence, Middle East operations, and strategic nuclear forces that serve American national interests independently of NATO membership.
The U.S. share of total NATO spending has narrowed from roughly 72% in 2016 to 60% in 2025, driven entirely by European increases.