While the majority (72 per cent) of NATO Allies were predicted to meet their 2 per cent defence spending pledge last year, it is true that some (eight) countries have spent less than 2 per cent of their GDP on their military budget.
For Norway, which will spend approximately 2.15 per cent of GDP on defence in 2025, reaching 5 per cent of GDP would take defence spending from around £7.4 billion to over £17 billion.
For the United Kingdom, which spent around 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence in 2024, would have to increase its budget from around £56.9 billion to over £123 billion to meet Trump’s 5 per cent goals.
In fact, every single NATO member has increased their defence spending in terms of GDP between 2014 and 2024; except for the United States, whose military budget was slightly smaller, according to NATO estimates.
The United Kingdom is the third biggest contributor, at 11 per cent, amounting to approximately £416.6 million this year; followed by France (10.2 per cent) and then Italy (8.5 per cent).
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