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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 2024, there are 32 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. Finland joined in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.
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 2023, 11 countries were meeting the percentage target.
Top 10 NATO Countries with the Highest Defense Expenditures (by % of 2023 GDP)
Country | % of GDP 2023 |
---|---|
Poland | 3.9% |
United States | 3.49% |
Greece | 3.01% |
Estonia | 2.73% |
Lithuania | 2.54% |
Finland | 2.45% |
Romania | 2.44% |
Hungary | 2.43% |
Latvia | 2.27% |
United Kingdom | 2.07% |
When examined by total dollar amounts spent instead of percentage of GDP, the top 10 list changes a bit.
Country | Defense Spending 2023 |
---|---|
United States | $860,000 |
Germany | $68,080 |
United Kingdom | $65,763 |
France | $56,649 |
Italy | $31,585 |
Poland | $29,105 |
Canada | $28,950 |
Spain | $19,179 |
Netherlands | $16,741 |
Turkey | $15,842 |
Country | % of GDP 2023 | Defense Spending 2023 (Million USD) | Defense Spending per Capita 2023 | % of GDP 2022 | Defense Spending 2022 (Million USD) | Defense Spending per Capita 2022 | % of Change From 2014-2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poland | 3.9% | $29,105 | $755 | 2.4% | $16,580 | $430 | 189.47% |
United States | 3.49% | $860,000 | $2,490 | 3.45% | $821,830 | $2,379 | 12.61% |
Greece | 3.01% | $7,125 | $709 | 3.86% | $8,488 | $845 | 50.33% |
Estonia | 2.73% | $1,170 | $860 | 2.16% | $821 | $603 | 77.48% |
Lithuania | 2.54% | $1,990 | $696 | 2.47% | $1,738 | $608 | 270.64% |
Finland | 2.45% | $7,325 | $1,304 | 1.68% | $4,726 | $841 | 89.36% |
Romania | 2.44% | $8,481 | $446 | 1.72% | $5,195 | $273 | 152.15% |
Hungary | 2.43% | $5,036 | $520 | 1.82% | $3,278 | $339 | 269.58% |
Latvia | 2.27% | $1,028 | $549 | 2.08% | $857 | $458 | 197.77% |
United Kingdom | 2.07% | $65,763 | $951 | 2.16% | $66,651 | $964 | 6.84% |
Slovakia | 2.03% | $2,620 | $476 | 1.81% | $2,090 | $380 | 153.2% |
France | 1.9% | $56,649 | $851 | 1.88% | $52,289 | $786 | 15.2% |
North Macedonia | 1.87% | $294 | $161 | 1.62% | $221 | $121 | 104.72% |
Montenegro | 1.87% | $131 | $205 | 1.41% | $86 | $135 | 58.61% |
Bulgaria | 1.84% | $1,855 | $275 | 1.62% | $1,440 | $213 | 78.51% |
Croatia | 1.79% | $1,394 | $360 | 1.82% | $1,285 | $332 | 28.43% |
Albania | 1.76% | $371 | $133 | 1.21% | $231 | $83 | 72.41% |
Netherlands | 1.7% | $16,741 | $918 | 1.63% | $15,606 | $856 | 74.95% |
Norway | 1.67% | $8,814 | $1,581 | 1.51% | $8,723 | $1,564 | 25.29% |
Denmark | 1.65% | $6,775 | $1,133 | 1.38% | $5,420 | $907 | 73.13% |
Germany | 1.57% | $68,080 | $805 | 1.49% | $60,788 | $719 | 44.22% |
Czech Republic | 1.5% | $5,033 | $469 | 1.34% | $3,896 | $363 | 93.85% |
Portugal | 1.48% | $4,167 | $400 | 1.42% | $3,574 | $343 | 35.9% |
Italy | 1.46% | $31,585 | $532 | 1.51% | $30,307 | $511 | 37.39% |
Canada | 1.38% | $28,950 | $728 | 1.22% | $26,046 | $655 | 57.54% |
Slovenia | 1.35% | $928 | $438 | 1.25% | $777 | $367 | 83.01% |
Turkey | 1.31% | $15,842 | $181 | 1.36% | $12,286 | $140 | 37.78% |
Spain | 1.26% | $19,179 | $400 | 1.07% | $14,897 | $311 | 58.01% |
Belgium | 1.13% | $7,076 | $603 | 1.19% | $6,880 | $586 | 33.72% |
Luxembourg | 0.72% | $609 | $905 | 0.62% | $511 | $759 | 135.08% |
Total | 0% | $1.26 Mn | 0% | $1.18 Mn | 0% |