As a military and political union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – or NATO – guarantees the security and independence of its members. NATO’s mission is to promote democratic ideals, collaborate on military and security matters, and foster trust among its members, all of which it set out to do after World War II.
This, in turn, helps to avoid confrontation. NATO also encourages peaceful conflict settlement. However, the military alliance may be called to deal with crises if diplomacy fails.
NATO will have 30 members by 2022. In addition to the countries mentioned above:
Albania; Belgium; Canada; Croatia; Denmark; Estonia; France (which has a standing military); Germany; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Poland; Portugal; Romania (which has a standing military); Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Turkey; United Kingdom (which has a standing military)

To maintain their security, NATO members must invest no less than the bare minimum.
All NATO countries committed at the 2014 summit to devote at least 2% of their GDP to defense by 2025. At 3.6%, Greece (2.4%), the UK (2.1%), and Poland (2.1%), only four countries reached this benchmark in 2017. 10 nations met the 10% objective by 2021.
Expenditures on defense in the top ten NATO countries (by percent of 2021 GDP)
- Greece — 3.82%
- United States — 3.52%
- Croatia — 2.79%
- United Kingdom — 2.29%
- Estonia — 2.28%
- Latvia — 2.27%
- Poland — 2.10%
- Lithuania — 2.03%
- Romania — 2.02%
- France — 2.01%
The top 10 positions shift somewhat when measured in terms of total dollar amounts spent rather than as a proportion of GDP.
Also See: NATO Countries 2022

These are the top 10 NATO countries in total US dollars spent on defense.
- United States — 811,140
- United Kingdom — 72,765
- Germany — 64,785
- France — 58,729
- Italy — 29,763
- Canada — 26,523
- Spain — 14,875
- Netherlands — 14,378
- Poland — 13,369
- Turkey — 13,057
The following is a list of the top 10 NATO expenditure countries:
- United States ($811,140)
- United Kingdom ($72,765)
- Germany ($64,785)
- France ($58,729)
- Italy ($29,763)
- Canada ($26,523)
- Spain ($14,875)
- Netherlands ($14,378)
- Poland ($13,369)
- Turkey ($13,057)
Country | 2021 % of GDP | 2021 Defense Expenditures (US$ millions) | 2021 Def. Exp. per Capita (US$) | 2019 % of GDP | 2022 Population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 0.0352 | 811140 | 2186 | 0.0342 | 338289.8570 |
United Kingdom | 0.0229 | 72765 | 1023 | 0.0213 | 67508.9360 |
Germany | 0.0153 | 64785 | 644 | 0.0136 | 83369.8430 |
France | 0.0201 | 58729 | 751 | 0.0184 | 64626.6280 |
Italy | 0.0141 | 29763 | 428 | 0.0122 | 59037.4740 |
Canada | 0.0139 | 26523 | 612 | 0.0127 | 38454.3270 |
Spain | 0.0102 | 14875 | 267 | 0.0092 | 47558.6300 |
Netherlands | 0.0145 | 14378 | 685 | 0.0135 | 17564.0140 |
Poland | 0.0210 | 13369 | 314 | 0.0201 | 39857.1450 |
Turkey | 0.0157 | 13057 | 199 | 0.0189 | 85341.2410 |
Norway | 0.0185 | 8292 | 1426 | 0.0170 | 5434.3190 |
Greece | 0.0382 | 8014 | 694 | 0.0224 | 10384.9710 |
Belgium | 0.0112 | 6503 | 466 | 0.0093 | 11655.9300 |
Romania | 0.0202 | 5785 | 231 | 0.0204 | 19659.2670 |
Denmark | 0.0141 | 5522 | 813 | 0.0135 | 5882.2610 |
Czech Republic | 0.0142 | 4013 | 276 | 0.0119 | 10493.9860 |
Portugal | 0.0154 | 3975 | 318 | 0.0141 | 10270.8650 |
Hungary | 0.0160 | 2907 | 239 | 0.0121 | 9967.3080 |
Slovakia | 0.0173 | 2043 | 311 | 0.0174 | 5643.4530 |
Croatia | 0.0279 | 1846 | 374 | 0.0175 | 4030.3580 |
Lithuania | 0.0203 | 1278 | 361 | 0.0198 | 2750.0550 |
Bulgaria | 0.0156 | 1253 | 131 | 0.0161 | 6781.9530 |
Latvia | 0.0227 | 851 | 366 | 0.0201 | 1850.6510 |
Estonia | 0.0228 | 787 | 468 | 0.0213 | 1326.0620 |
Slovenia | 0.0128 | 760 | 297 | 0.0104 | 2119.8440 |
Luxembourg | 0.0057 | 474 | 594 | 0.0055 | 647.5990 |
Albania | 0.0144 | 239 | 66 | 0.0126 | 2842.3210 |
North Macedonia | 0.0161 | 219 | 85 | 2093.5990 | |
Montenegro | 0.0174 | 97 | 122 | 0.0165 | 627.0820 |