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According to official data, a total of about $1.456 trillion was spent by all Alliance countries, with almost two-thirds coming from Washington. According to the list, the three countries with the smallest contributions are Montenegro ($139 million), North Macedonia ($317 million) and Albania ($532 million).
NATO member countries agreed today to increase defense spending by 5% of GDP, a target that must be achieved by 2035. Against the American proposal to increase defense spending was only Spain, which was targeted today by US President Donald Trump, who promised to force this member country to pay double, also recalling the tariffs that the US is applying to countries in trade agreements.
Currently, each NATO member country is supposed to pay 2% of GDP for defense, but beyond the percentages, one aspect that shows how much each country spends is the absolute values invested. Among the NATO leaders who gathered in The Hague was Prime Minister Edi Rama, who was among the first among his Alliance counterparts to support Donald Trump's request for an increase in the percentage of GDP. But in absolute terms, not as a percentage of GDP, Albania is among the countries with the lowest spending among Alliance members.
Of the 31 NATO countries with their own armed forces, 22 achieved the 2 percent target, with an average of 2.61 percent of GDP going to defense. This includes Albania, which is in line with its current GDP percentage.
Poland led the way with 4.07 percent, followed by Estonia with 3.41 percent and Latvia with 3.39 percent. The United States (3.19 percent) and Lithuania (3.11 percent) also spent more than three percent on defense. Germany ranked 14th with 2.1 percent.
But what are the absolute figures that each country spends on Defense?
Here the United States ranks first with $935 billion, or 10 times more than Germany, which ranks second. According to NATO, Berlin invested the equivalent of $99.16 billion on defense, the second highest figure after the United States. The United Kingdom ranks third with $84.041 billion.
According to official data, a total of about $1.456 trillion was spent by all Alliance countries, with almost 2/3 coming from Washington.
According to the list, the 3 countries with the smallest contributions are Montenegro ($139 million), North Macedonia ($317 million) and Albania ($532 million).
When looking at the share of GDP, Spain ranks last with 1.24 percent, Belgium with 1.29 percent and Luxembourg, with 1.3 percent.
According to NATO plans, each member should have until 2035 to increase its GDP to 5 percent. Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the second day of the meeting in The Hague that, given the threat posed by Russia and the international security situation, the partners are firmly convinced that there is "no other alternative."
Estimated defense investments of NATO countries in 2024
1. USA: 935 billion US dollars
2. Germany: 99.16 billion US dollars
3. United Kingdom: $84.041 billion
4. France: 64.922 billion US dollars
5. Italy: 35.633 billion US dollars
...
27. Slovenia: 986 million US dollars
28. Luxembourg: $758 million
29. Albania: 532 million US dollars
30. North Macedonia: $317 million
31. Montenegro: 139 million US dollars
Referring to expenditures, despite Albania being ranked among the countries that have exceeded 2% of GDP, as was the ceiling until now, in the case of real values spent, it ranks 3rd from the bottom, leaving behind Macedonia and Montenegro, the two neighboring countries of the Region.
However, the speed at which countries will increase their defense spending accordingly, in many cases more than doubling it, is left to the discretion of each national leader. Since there are ten years to meet the 5 percent target, it is impossible to truly predict what amounts will be allocated in the coming years. /Pamphlet/
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