Stoltenberg: NATO members increasingly allocating funds for military

(Patria) - NATO members increased their military spending by 11 percent last year, and it is estimated that European members will spend 470 billion dollars on defense in 2024.

That is two percent of their total GDP, and for the first time two-thirds of members will reach the two percent target, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today.

The record holder for the increase in military spending over the past nine years, by as much as 302 percent, is Lithuania, followed by Hungary with 213, Latvia with 208, and Poland with 190 percent, Hina reports.

Croatia increased its military budget from 892 million dollars in 2014 to 1.13 billion in 2023, and with an increase of 27.5 percent, it is at the bottom of the list.

Poland allocates the most for defense relative to its GDP - 3.92 percent, followed by the United States with 3.24 and Greece with 3.05 percent. The lowest allocations are from Luxembourg - 1.01 percent, Spain 1.24, and Portugal 1.48 percent.

The highest per capita spending, 2,101 dollars, is by Americans, followed by Norway with 1,445, Denmark with 1,208, Finland with 1,146, and the United Kingdom with 1,077 dollars.