NATO reports 20% increase in spending by allies

Published March 26, 2026 4:16pm ET



NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte touted the alliance’s across-the-board 20% increase in defense spending in his annual report, announcing all allied countries met their GDP spending requirement in 2025.

“In 2025, for the first time, all Allies met the goal agreed in 2014 – to invest at least 2% of their GDP on defense. And many went much further. In fact, we saw 20% increase in what Europe and Canada spent on defense in 2025 as compared with 2024,” Rutte said on Thursday.

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