Poland leads NATO allies in defense spending: report
Twenty-three NATO countries spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense, with Poland leading the pack for the second year running, according to the latest report from the Western military alliance.
Photo:PAP/Marcin Bielecki
Poland sets aside 4.12 percent of its GDP to defense, making it the leader among NATO members, the report said.
For the second consecutive year, Poland has surpassed the United States, which had led the ranking for many years.
In 2024, the United States spent 3.38 percent of its GDP on defense, placing it third among NATO allies in terms of military spending.
Estonia ranked second on the list, ahead of the United States, Latvia and Greece.
Poland’s southern neighbor Slovakia is also among the 23 countries meeting NATO’s requirement of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.
Meanwhile, Spain fell below this threshold this year, allocating only 1.28 percent of its GDP to defense, the least among NATO members.
Slovenia and Luxembourg spend slightly more on defense than Spain, according to the report.
The requirement for NATO allies to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense has been in place since 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.
The war in Ukraine has led NATO countries to significantly increase their defense spending.
In February this year, 18 alliance countries were allocating at least 2 percent of GDP to defense, and by June, that number had risen to 23, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
(mp/gs)
Source: IAR
