Poland leads NATO in defence spending as allies boost outlays in 2025
Poland recorded the highest defence spending in NATO in 2025, allocating 4.3 percent of its GDP to the military, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote in a report released on Thursday.
The report highlights a sharp increase in defence budgets across the alliance, with European members and Canada raising military spending by 20 percent in real terms compared with the previous year.
NATO estimates show that Poland's defence expenditure reached approximately PLN 166 billion (EUR 38 billion) in 2025, up from around PLN 137 billion (EUR 31 billion) in 2024, when it accounted for 3.76 percent of GDP.
Rutte noted that all NATO members met or exceeded the alliance's 2 percent GDP defence spending target, originally agreed in 2014. However, he emphasised that a new benchmark, adopted at the 2025 NATO summit, sets a significantly more ambitious goal of 5 percent of GDP by 2035. This includes 3.5 percent for core defence spending and an additional 1.5 percent for related investments such as cybersecurity and infrastructure.
After Poland, the highest spenders as a share of GDP were Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In contrast, countries including Portugal, Spain and Canada remained closer to the 2-percent level.
"I expect Allies at the next NATO Summit in Ankara to show they are on a clear and credible path towards the 5-percent objective," Rutte wrote, adding that "a strong transatlantic bond remains essential in an age of global uncertainty."
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on European allies to increase defence spending, arguing they should take greater responsibility for regional security, and recently criticised NATO countries for their limited involvement in the conflict with Iran. (PAP)
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