NATO Wants Members To Spend 5% Of GDP On Defence, Only Two Already Do

At the NATO Summit in Ankara, alliance leaders endorsed a new defence spending benchmark of 5% of GDP, significantly higher than NATO's long-standing 2% target. The move has come during the high security concerns across Europe and the alliance's efforts to strengthen its military capabilities amid the continuing threat.However, the latest NATO defence expenditure estimates data show that only two members have already crossed the new threshold. Lithuania is projected to spend 5.33% of its GDP on defence in 2026, while Estonia is expected to spend 5.10%. No other NATO member has yet reached the future goal of 5%.What stands out in the data is where these countries are located. Both Lithuania and Estonia sit on NATO's eastern flank and are among the alliance's closest members to Russia. The same pattern is visible among the countries nearest to joining the "5% club".