Every member nation now hits minimum defence spending target, Nato report shows

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are expected to spend the highest percentage of their national GDP on defence, according to a new Nato report, which shows projected defence spending increases across all member nations.

The three countries are already meeting the new higher goal of 3.5%, which Nato has asked members to reach by 2032.

Poland tops the list of 32 Nato nations, spending 4.48% of GDP on defence. GDP, or gross domestic product, is a measure of the size and health of a country's economy over a period, usually a quarter or a year.

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Overall growth in defence spending

Spain and Luxembourg are among the Nato countries spending the least on defence, but they are at least now meeting the 2% target.

In 2024, only 18 countries had reached that goal. 

The UK has increased its contribution to an estimated 2.4% this year, with plans to raise that figure to 3.5% spending on core defence, which were announced by the Prime Minister at a Nato summit in the Hague in June.

Figures show an overall 15.9% growth in average defence spending among Nato members in 2025 compared to an 18.6% increase in 2024, although marking an upward trend since the start of the war in Ukraine.

US president Donald Trump has also been pressuring European allies to invest more in defence.

Rattled by potential threat from Russia

The US is also still one of the top spenders on defence within Nato, along with Estonia and Norway.

Baltic nations in particular are rattled by the potential threat from Russia, and this is reflected in their defence budgets.

Germany's defence spending figures are expected to update and also reflect a bigger increase once its parliament passes a new bill.

Traditionally hesitant to build a strong military since the Second World War, the German government also now finds itself facing off against a more aggressive Russia, sparking a race to boost its defence capabilities.

But all Nato members have increased spending specifically on military equipment in the last decade, with the biggest rises showing in 2024 and 2025.

The defence budget increases amount to an estimated annual average of $1,423 per capita across all Nato nations and roughly £860 per capita each year in the UK, according to the report.