00:00From statements to actions, here's which countries are pouring the most money into defence.
00:09After huge pressure from the United States to ramp up military budgets, Europe is responding.
00:15In 2025, the continent spent 739 billion euros on defence, up 14% year-on-year and twice as much
00:23as 10 years ago.
00:24Germany means business with a 24% increase. In 2025, it pumped in 97 billion euros, overtaking the UK and
00:32becoming the world's fourth-largest military spender behind the US, China and Russia.
00:38Another major economy which isn't shy in a way is Italy, with a 20% increase, now neck-and-neck
00:44with Israel for military spending.
00:46Habitual NATO underperformer, Spain went even further with a 50% jump, bringing its military spending up to the alliance's
00:54former 2% of GDP target for the first time since the early 90s.
00:59Looking at defence spending as a share of GDP gives a clearer picture of who is treating defence as a
01:05national priority.
01:07In Europe, the countries leading the pack all-border Russia, Poland is on top, allocating 4.5% of its
01:14GDP to weapons and defence infrastructure.
01:17Latvia comes second at 3.6%, followed by Estonia and Norway.
01:23At the other end of the spectrum are Iceland, with nearly 0%, Ireland and Switzerland.
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