Revealed: Which NATO members are falling short on military spending?

[mike2000 is back]

A Polish soldier taking part in NATO exercises. Poland is one of only five NATO members that meets the alliance's guideline for defense spending.

Which NATO Members are Falling short on Military Spending?

April 15 NEW YORK

Most NATO countries don't pay their fair share, and it's becoming a sore point in the U.S.

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton both used the Democratic presidential debate Thursday to call on other NATO members to spend more on defense. Donald Trump has gone even further, saying the U.S. should rethink its involvement in the military alliance because it costs too much money.
Many European members -- including big economies like France and Germany -- spend less than the amount called for by NATO guidelines.

The U.S. shells out far more money on defense than any other nation on the planet.

According to NATO statistics, the U.S. spent an estimated $650 billion on defense last year. That's more than double the amount all the other 27 NATO countries spent between them, even though their combined GDP tops that of the U.S.


Related: Russia and Saudi Arabia cut defense budgets over low oil

American military spending has always eclipsed other allies' budgets since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's founding in 1949. But the gap grew much wider when the U.S. beefed up its spending after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Even NATO itself admits it has an "over-reliance" on the U.S. for the provision of essential capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air-to-air refueling, ballistic missile defense and airborne electronic warfare.

The U.S. also spends the highest proportion of its GDP on defense: 3.62%. The second biggest NATO spender in proportional terms is Greece, at 2.46%, according to NATO.

The organization is based on the principle of collective defense: an attack against one or several of its members is considered as an attack against all. So far that has only been invoked once -- in response to the September 11 attacks.
Related: China's weapons sales to other countries are soaring

To make the principle work, all countries are expected to chip in. NATO's official guidelines say member states should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

Of the 28 countries in the alliance, only five -- the U.S., Greece, Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the target.
The rest lag behind. Germany spent 1.18% of its GDP on defense last year, France forked out 1.8%.

Iceland, which doesn't have its own army, spends just 0.1% of its GDP on defense, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Six other countries spend less than 1%, according to NATO: the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and Hungary.

NATO is campaigning for the 2% guideline to be taken more seriously.
At a 2014 summit in Wales, all member countries that currently fall below the threshold committed to gradually ramp up military spending to reach the target within the next decade.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/15/news/nato-spending-countries/

@Blue Marlin , @waz , @Atanz , @Steve781

 

[livingdead]

greece is spending 2.46%? will they ever pay back money lend to them?

 

[Vergennes]

A Polish soldier taking part in NATO exercises. Poland is one of only five NATO members that meets the alliance's guideline for defense spending.

Which NATO Members are Falling short on Military Spending?

April 15 NEW YORK

Most NATO countries don't pay their fair share, and it's becoming a sore point in the U.S.

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton both used the Democratic presidential debate Thursday to call on other NATO members to spend more on defense. Donald Trump has gone even further, saying the U.S. should rethink its involvement in the military alliance because it costs too much money.
Many European members -- including big economies like France and Germany -- spend less than the amount called for by NATO guidelines.

The U.S. shells out far more money on defense than any other nation on the planet.

According to NATO statistics, the U.S. spent an estimated $650 billion on defense last year. That's more than double the amount all the other 27 NATO countries spent between them, even though their combined GDP tops that of the U.S.


Related: Russia and Saudi Arabia cut defense budgets over low oil

American military spending has always eclipsed other allies' budgets since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's founding in 1949. But the gap grew much wider when the U.S. beefed up its spending after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Even NATO itself admits it has an "over-reliance" on the U.S. for the provision of essential capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air-to-air refueling, ballistic missile defense and airborne electronic warfare.

The U.S. also spends the highest proportion of its GDP on defense: 3.62%. The second biggest NATO spender in proportional terms is Greece, at 2.46%, according to NATO.

The organization is based on the principle of collective defense: an attack against one or several of its members is considered as an attack against all. So far that has only been invoked once -- in response to the September 11 attacks.
Related: China's weapons sales to other countries are soaring

To make the principle work, all countries are expected to chip in. NATO's official guidelines say member states should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

Of the 28 countries in the alliance, only five -- the U.S., Greece, Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the target.
The rest lag behind. Germany spent 1.18% of its GDP on defense last year, France forked out 1.8%.

Iceland, which doesn't have its own army, spends just 0.1% of its GDP on defense, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Six other countries spend less than 1%, according to NATO: the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and Hungary.

NATO is campaigning for the 2% guideline to be taken more seriously.
At a 2014 summit in Wales, all member countries that currently fall below the threshold committed to gradually ramp up military spending to reach the target within the next decade.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/15/news/nato-spending-countries/

@Blue Marlin , @waz , @Atanz , @Steve781

France doesn't spend ~1.8% on defense,just ~1,5%.
Western European countries are not in a hurry to meet this target compared to Eastern European countries.
Economic crisis and over reliance on the US for the defense of Europe can explain why some countries don't meet this target.

 

[mike2000 is back]

France doesn't spend ~1.8% on defense,just ~1,5%.
Western European countries are not in a hurry to meet this target compared to Eastern European countries.
Economic crisis and over reliance on the US for the defense of Europe can explain why some countries don't meet this target.

Huh....but we are not an eastern European country, yet we still Meet our defence obligations.

 

[xenon54 out]

Turkey should also spend over 2%, we have lots of defence projects that are over the proposed deadline like Anka and Altay, there are even bigger projects like Milden, TF-2000 and the LHD, we shouldnt need to wait another decade for those.

greece is spending 2.46%? will they ever pay back money lend to them?

Its because of Turkey.

 

[Steve781]

It should be a compulsory target not an advisory target. Especially Latvia and Lithuania who are now calling for NATO troops to be stationed in their countries despite refusing to spend the required amount themselves.

 

[Vergennes]

It should be a compulsory target not an advisory target. Especially Latvia and Lithuania who are now calling for NATO troops to be stationed in their countries despite refusing to spend the required amount themselves.

In 2015,Latvia spent €254Mn on defense,which equals to 1% of their GDP.

€254 million or 1% of GDP in 2015.

In 2016,Latvia will spend €350Mn on defense,which equals to 1,4% of their GDP.

in 2016 the military budget will total €350 million or 1.4% of GDP.

It is planned that the budget will continue to rise and will hit the 2% target as early as 2018.

EADaily reported earlier that the Latvian government plans to increase the defense budget to the level recommended by NATO i.e., 2% of GDP as early as in 2018.

https://eadaily.com/en/news/2015/08/24/latvia-to-increase-its-military-budget-by-eu96-million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2015,Lithuania spent €425Mn on defense,which equals to 1.1% of their GDP.

Defence allocations to the Ministry of National Defence total EUR 425 m or 1.11 pct of GDP, in the 2015 State and Municipal Budget of Lithuania approved by the Lithuanian Seimas.

And the budget rose by 32%.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...lithuania-increases-defense-budget-by-32.html

In 2016,the budget rose by 35.2% to reach €574Mn,which equals to 1,5% of their GDP.

Total expenditure on defence is expected to reach EUR574 million (USD644 million).
Under the increase planned for 2016, the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) budget will grow to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 1.1% in 2015.

It is planned that they will hit the 2% target by 2020.

The boost to spending follows a March 2014 announcement by Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius that cross-party agreement had been achieved to raise military spending to 2% of GDP by 2020

http://www.janes.com/article/54928/lithuania-plans-35-increase-in-2016-defence-budget

 

[Steve781]

In 2015,Latvia spent €254Mn on defense,which equals to 1% of their GDP.



In 2016,Latvia will spend €350Mn on defense,which equals to 1,4% of their GDP.



It is planned that the budget will continue to rise and will hit the 2% target as early as 2018.


https://eadaily.com/en/news/2015/08/24/latvia-to-increase-its-military-budget-by-eu96-million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2015,Lithuania spent €425Mn on defense,which equals to 1.1% of their GDP.



And the budget rose by 32%.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...lithuania-increases-defense-budget-by-32.html

In 2016,the budget rose by 35.2% to reach €574Mn,which equals to 1,4% of their GDP.



It is planned that they will hit the 2% target by 2020.



http://www.janes.com/article/54928/lithuania-plans-35-increase-in-2016-defence-budget

Still not enough. They should be aiming to increase their spending as quickly as possible. A lot can happen in four years.

 

[MarkusS]

tehehehehehehe xD

 

[mike2000 is back]

So Spain, Italy, and other small European countries like Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal etc all lag far behind in their defence preparedness/commitment. I'm sure even Pakistan can invade these countries.

In short, The U.S, U.K and to some extent France are the pillars of NATO and the western world, the rest are just the rest.

Will be interesting to see if NATO can make it an obligation, so we can see if these countries can even afford to stand on their own, which I doubt. Lool

@Vauban , you were calling for the U.S ro leave NATO and Europe, so Europe can form its own military defence union/united Army. LMAO. what do you think NATO will be without the U.S and to some extent Britain?

What do you think this defence union alias European Army will look like with these pussy countries we have in Europe? Lool

Its for this very reason Great Britain is vehemently against the so called 'European Army' lol . It will be another big joke of the century where Britain and to a lesser extent France will be expected to protect all other European countries.

http://www.cityam.com/211045/junkers-calling-eu-army-why-it-could-be-bad-britain

I know bashing the U.S is a pass time for countries outside the U.S/U.K Anglo saxon region. But even so, we should be realistic and think before we say some silly things.

In 2015,Latvia spent €254Mn on defense,which equals to 1% of their GDP.



In 2016,Latvia will spend €350Mn on defense,which equals to 1,4% of their GDP.



It is planned that the budget will continue to rise and will hit the 2% target as early as 2018.


https://eadaily.com/en/news/2015/08/24/latvia-to-increase-its-military-budget-by-eu96-million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2015,Lithuania spent €425Mn on defense,which equals to 1.1% of their GDP.



And the budget rose by 32%.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...lithuania-increases-defense-budget-by-32.html

In 2016,the budget rose by 35.2% to reach €574Mn,which equals to 1,5% of their GDP.



It is planned that they will hit the 2% target by 2020.



http://www.janes.com/article/54928/lithuania-plans-35-increase-in-2016-defence-budget

Well, at least these small Baltic countries are trying to catch up. Lol. Eventhough spending even 4% of their GDP on defence will make little difference overall, but at least it shows they are trying/committed to meet NATO's defence guidelines.

 

[Nattmara]

We're spending 1.54% of our GDP on defense, aided by an extra 526 million USD which is a 9.8% increase over the 2015 budget.

Our defense budget is 6 billion USD.

There was no mention in Norway’s new budget of the outlooks for defense spending in the short or long terms. In the 2016 budget, however, $1.5 billion would be destined for equipment purchases, while more than $390 million would be earmarked for infrastructure projects. Key aspects of the budget centered on the deployment of submarines, the purchase of F-35 aircraft and the strengthening of intelligence capabilities.

http://www.ibtimes.com/amid-russia-fears-norway-increase-military-budget-6b-2016-2135763

Iceland, which doesn't have its own army, spends just 0.1% of its GDP on defense, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

That's OK little Norwegian clay. Just let your big Nordic brothers help you.

 

[mike2000 is back]

It should be a compulsory target not an advisory target. Especially Latvia and Lithuania who are now calling for NATO troops to be stationed in their countries despite refusing to spend the required amount themselves.

Well, they expect the U.S and U.K to be their babysitter and protect them from any harm. lol
However, we are doing this also for our own interests to be honest.

 

[Nattmara]

Well, they expect the U.S and U.K to be their babysitter and protect them from any harm. lol
However, we are doing this also for our own interests to be honest.

Poland seems to be doing a fine job these days.

 

[The Sandman]

Europoors u make these yourself right?

 

[mike2000 is back]

Poland seems to be doing a fine job these days.

Hahaha..... nice one miss

Europoors u make these yourself right?

Its from polandballs I think.

Greece at least meets its defence commitment. So I will wipe out their debts.