(Reuters) – NATO member countries' defense spending may come back into focus as former US President Donald Trump returns to office.
Republican Trump, 78, was elected president on Wednesday, defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. He previously served as US president from 2017 to 2021. Congratulating Trump on his election, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that “two-thirds of Allied countries now spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, and defense spending and production are at at the same level.” further trajectory across the Alliance.”
In the past, Trump has criticized NATO and accused European countries of spending too little on defense.
NATO members commit to spending at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
NATO estimates that in 2024 Poland leads the alliance by spending 4.12% of GDP on defense, followed by Estonia at 3.43% and the United States at 3.38%.
Estimated NATO defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024:
Poland 4.12
Estonia 3.43
United States 3.38
Latvia 3.15
Greece 3.08
Lithuania 2.85
Finland 2.41
Denmark 2.37
Union Kingdom (TADAWUL:) 2.33
Romania 2.25
North Macedonia 2.22
Norway 2.20
Bulgaria 2.18
Sweden 2.14
Germany 2.12
Hungary 2.11
Czech 2.10
Turkiye 2.09
France 2.06
Netherlands 2.05
Albania 2.03
Montenegro 2.02
Slovak Republic 2.00
Croatia 1.81
Portugal 1.55
Italy 1.49
Canada 1.37
Belgium 1.30
Luxembourg 1.29
Slovenia 1.29
Spain 1.28
Source: NATO estimates