Nato confirms that Spain reached 2% of GDP defence spending in 2025

Nato confirmed on Thursday that Spain met the target of allocating 2% of its GDP to defence spending in 2025, as agreed with the military organisation.

The Nato report shows, however, that the country remains among the allies that invest the least in this area, along with Belgium, Albania, Canada and Portugal, all at 2%. This figure, nevertheless, represents a significant improvement for Spain, which ended 2024 at 1.42%.

The document shows that European countries are prioritising their security and defence. The average military spending of member states and Canada is projected to reach 2.33% in 2025, compared to 1.97% last year.

This increase in investment is primarily due to demands from US President Donald Trump, who secured a commitment from allies to raise military spending to 5% of their GDP at the Nato summit held in The Hague last year. Spain, however, stated that it will not need to reach that percentage to meet its capability objectives and reached a flexibility agreement with Nato that allows it to set its own spending limit of 2.1% of GDP.

Secretary General of Nato Mark Rutte noted a significant increase in investments from European allies and Canada and said he expects the allies to demonstrate "that they are on a clear path toward the 5% target". He added that "a strong transatlantic alliance remains essential in these times of global uncertainty".