NATO countries' defense spending rises to $1.17 trillion

NATO countries’ defense spending in 2022 increased compared to the previous year, reaching $1.17 trillion. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s 2022 Annual Report has been published. The report also included information on NATO countries’ defense spending. Accordingly, defense spending, which was $1.15 trillion in 2021, increased to $1.17 trillion in 2022 based on estimated current figures. Last year, seven members met NATO’s goal of allocating at least 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to defense. These countries were the United States, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Latvia. In 2014, Greece, the United States, and the United Kingdom allocated more than 2 percent of their GDP to defense. In 2022, Greece spent 3.54 percent of its GDP on defense, the United States 3.46 percent, and Lithuania 2.47 percent. According to the report, Turkey allocated 1.37 percent of its GDP to defense spending. At current prices, the United States had a defense spending of $821 billion in 2022, followed by the United Kingdom with $67.7 billion, Germany with $60.9 billion, France with $52.4 billion, Italy with $30.4 billion, and Canada with $28.1 billion. Of other allies, Poland spent $17.1 billion, the Netherlands $15.6 billion, Spain $14.9 billion, Turkey $11.9 billion, Norway $8.4 billion, and Greece $7.8 billion. The United States accounted for 54 percent of the alliance's total GDP and 70 percent of its total defense spending. Call for increased spending Secretary General Stoltenberg said at a press conference to introduce the report that defense spending has been increasing in Europe and Canada for the eighth consecutive year. Noting that current spending increased by 2.2 percent last year, Stoltenberg reminded that many NATO countries had pledged to seriously increase spending following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “Now is the time to convert these promises into real cash, contracts and tangible materials,” Stoltenberg said. “We must do more, faster,” Stoltenberg said, continuing: “At the summit in Vilnius in July, I expect the Allies to agree on a more ambitious new defense investment commitment, on the condition that a minimum of 2 percent of GDP is invested in our defense. We cannot take our security for granted in this new and more contentious world.”