According to NATO’s annual report that was published on Thursday, Belgium met alliance’s defence expenditure target of 2% of GDP in 2025. The reports states that exactly 2% of the country’s GDP was spent on defence last year.
This means that all 32 NATO members have now reached the 2% GDP benchmark. This marks a significant rise in overall military spending by NATO members. The target was first agreed in 2006 and reaffirmed at a 2014 summit in Wales. A deadline of 2024 was set. This is the first time Belgium has fulfilled the commitment. 5 years ago Belgium spent 1% of its GDP on defence. In 2024 this had risen to 1.27%.
Last year other NATO members including Albania, Canada, Spain and Portugal also spent exactly 2% of the respective GDPs on defence. Meanwhile, Italy and the Czech Republic slightly exceeded it with defence expenditure of 2.01% of GDP.
Together European NATO members and Canada increased defence spending by 20% in 2025 compared with 2024. Total expenditure on defence for NATO members excluding the United States was 574 billion US dollars. Including the United States, total NATO defence spending surpassed 1.4 trillion US dollars.
The increase in defence spending by European NATO members follows pressure from the US President Donald Trump to boost military budgets
NATO leaders have agreed to raise the defence expenditure target further. By 2035 NATO members aim to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence (3.5%) and related support measures (1.5%).