US allies in NATO upped defence spending 20% last year: report
NATO allies increased military spending to US$574 billion in 2025 and are now aiming for a higher defence target by 2035.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gestures during a press conference to present his 2025 Annual Report, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium Mar 26, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Omar Havana)
BRUSSELS: Military spending by America's allies in NATO rose by a fifth year-on-year in 2025 to US$574 billion, new data showed Thursday (Mar 26).
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought higher defence spending by the alliance's 32 member states, pushing Europe to take primary responsibility for its own security.
With the increase by NATO's European members and Canada, all allies are now devoting more than two per cent of gross domestic product to military spending, a goal set in 2014 for 2024, a NATO report said.
Since then, under pressure from Trump, NATO set a new target last year - to reach five per cent by 2035.
In presenting the report, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he expected "Allies to show they are on a clear and credible path towards the five per cent" when they hold their next summit in Ankara in July.
The headline target breaks down as 3.5 per cent on core defence spending and 1.5 per cent on a looser range of areas such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Only three countries met the 3.5 per cent goal last year - Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
All NATO countries increased their military spending last year, but three saw a slight drop in the share of spending relative to their GDP.
The United States went from 3.30 per cent in 2024 to 3.19 per cent, the Czech Republic from 2.07 per cent to 2.01 percent, and Hungary from 2.21 per cent to 2.07 percent.
