Five NATO Members Hit GDP 3.5% Defense Spending Target Nearly Decade Early

NATO figures for 2025 indicate allied defence spending has risen sharply, driven by the war in Ukraine and renewed pressure on members to increase budgets.

The data show that all NATO countries met the previous benchmark of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence in 2025. In addition, at least a handful of allies—especially in Eastern Europe—have already moved beyond the alliance’s newer, higher goal.

NATO has committed to a more ambitious spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035, with an additional 1.5% of GDP intended for defence- and security-related areas such as protecting critical infrastructure and bolstering civil preparedness. Based on the 2025 estimates, only a small number of countries were already spending more than 3.5% of GDP, including major standouts in the Baltics and Poland.

While Europe’s and Canada’s spending has increased as a group, the United States remains the biggest overall spender in cash terms, even as its defence spending share of GDP is lower than earlier years.