The North Atlantic Treaty Organization – or NATO is a military and political alliance used to guarantee each of its members' security and freedom. Created after World War II, the goal of NATO is to promote democratic values, cooperate on defense and security issues, and to build trust among members. This, in turn, helps prevent conflict from occurring. NATO also promotes a peaceful resolution of disputes. However, if diplomatic efforts do not work, the military alliance is used for crisis-management operations.
As of 2022, there are 30 members of NATO. Those nations include: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland (which has no standing military), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Minimum required defense spending by NATO countries
During the 2014 summit, all NATO members agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDPs on defense by 2025. In 2017, only four nations met the threshold: The United States (3.6%), Greece (2.4%), the United Kingdom (2.1%), and Poland (2.0%). However, by 2021, ten countries were meeting the percentage target.
Top 10 NATO Countries with the Highest Defense Expenditures (by % of 2021 GDP)
- Greece — 3.82%
- United States — 3.52%
- Croatia — 2.79%
- United Kingdom — 2.29%
- Estonia — 2.28%
- Latvia — 2.27%
- Poland — 2.10%
- Lithuania — 2.03%
- Romania — 2.02%
- France — 2.01%
When examined by total dollar amounts spent instead of percentage of GDP, the top 10 list changes a bit.
Top 10 NATO Countries with the Highest Defense Expenditures (by total US$)
- United States — 811,140
- United Kingdom — 72,765
- Germany — 64,785
- France — 58,729
- Italy — 29,763
- Canada — 26,523
- Spain — 14,875
- Netherlands — 14,378
- Poland — 13,369
- Turkey — 13,057