2024-01-16 06:33:20
Back in 2014, the idea was born that by 2024 NATO member countries should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.
Although from 10 years ago at the NATO summit in Wales not everything is clearly defined regarding the accepted proposal, but the 2% goal is still considered by many experts to be a key factor in NATO’s success.
However, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reported, only 11 of the 30 member nations with armed forces met or exceeded the required level, according to data released on July 1.
Eastern European countries have spent a lot on defense systems
Among the countries achieving 2% are the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Finland, which joined last year. This shows that the Eastern European countries are taking the military threats emerging in Europe more seriously.
It is worth mentioning Romania and Hungary, which recently appeared on the list, where military expenditures relative to GDP increased significantly in 2023 compared to 2022. In addition, interestingly, several larger and richer member countries fell short of the set goal: this includes, for example, Germany, Canada, Italy and Spain.
Croatia and France, which previously reached the 2% level, remained slightly below it in 2023. The two newest NATO members, Montenegro and North Macedonia, came closest to reaching the threshold, each with defense expenditures equal to 1.87% of GDP, followed by Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
It is also worth noting that before war once more became a reality on the European continent in 2022, the state of NATO’s military infrastructure was already a matter of debate, as most European nations spent sparingly on defense systems in peacetime.
Former US President Donald Trump brought the issue to the fore at a 2018 NATO meeting, when he criticized several NATO member states, particularly Germany, for not making enough efforts to meet the 2% of GDP spending threshold.
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