NATO defense spending projected to top $1.8T in 2026

Defense spending by NATO member states is projected to exceed $1.8 trillion in 2026, driven by increased military investment across the alliance following commitments made at last year's The Hague summit.

Based on NATO's latest defense expenditure estimates released Tuesday, the alliance's 32 members are expected to spend a combined over $1.8 trillion on defense in 2026, up about 11% from an estimated $1.63 trillion in 2025.

The US is projected to remain by far the alliance's biggest military spender, with defense expenditure estimated at $1.03 trillion, accounting for roughly 57% of NATO's total spending.

Germany is expected to rank second with about $147 billion, followed by the UK ($110 billion), France ($80 billion), Italy ($57 billion), Poland ($53 billion), Canada ($52 billion) and Türkiye ($48 billion).

NATO estimates that five allies — Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Greece — will spend more than 3.5% of GDP on core defense in 2026, surpassing the benchmark agreed by alliance leaders at the 2025 Hague summit. Overall, NATO's average core defense spending is projected at 2.86% of GDP.

At The Hague summit, allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP in defense and defense-related spending by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense and 1.5% for broader security-related investments such as critical infrastructure, resilience and innovation.