Kathmandu. NATO said that 22 of its 32 member states spent at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense in 2024.
Many European countries have increased their military and security spending since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NATO has been advising all member states to spend at least two percent. US President Donald Trump has now urged them to increase that spending to 5 percent.
He said that if member states do not spend on their defense, it may be difficult to get help from the United States. NATO had initially estimated that 23 countries would meet this target, but in the end only 22 countries met it. European countries and Canada will spend more than 19 percent of their combined defense budget in 2024.
Some countries have said they will soon meet the 2 percent target. Spain announced this week that it will invest more than 10 billion euros to meet the target this year. The United States is the largest spender in NATO, accounting for more than 64 percent of NATO’s total spending in 2024.
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