NATO Members' Defense Spending by GDP: Lithuania Leads the List

NATO members in Europe and Canada are set to significantly boost their defense expenditures in 2026, with collective spending projected to reach $634 billion, an 11% increase from the previous year. This rise, while substantial, still leaves allied nations' spending considerably lower than that of the United States.

Among the alliance's members, Lithuania stands out, dedicating 5.1% of its GDP to defense. It is closely followed by Estonia at 5%, Latvia at 4.9%, and Poland at 4.68%. For comparison, the United States plans to spend 3.17% of its GDP on defense in 2026, while Germany allocates 2.69% and the United Kingdom 2.56%. The overall NATO average is projected to be 2.8% of GDP.

These figures emerge as leaders of the 32-nation alliance convene for a summit in Ankara, where discussions are heavily influenced by U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent calls for increased defense contributions from allies. A prior agreement from last year's summit stipulated that member states would commit at least 3.5% of their GDP to defense, with an additional 1.5% for related expenditures like infrastructure, aiming for a 5% target by 2035. This marks a significant increase from the previous goal of 2%.

The projected 11% growth in European and Canadian defense spending for 2026 follows an even more dramatic approximately 19% surge between 2024 and 2025. Despite this upward trend, the collective spending of European allies and Canada will not match the substantial investments made by the United States in its own military.