The US thinks Europe isn’t pulling its weight on NATO – but how much are countries really spending on defence?
With President Donald Trump entering office for the second time, NATO spending is once again under scrutiny as the United States warns European countries must dig deeper into their pockets.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday the US would “no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship” with allies on Ukraine, and warned that other NATO Members needed to spend more on defence.
It comes as Mr Trump announced he had a “highly productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he said would initiate negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Other NATO nations have criticised leaving Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the call, with the UK’s defence minister John Healey reiterating that “there can be no negotiation about Ukraine, without Ukraine”.
“Let’s not forget, Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine,” added Mr Healey.
The United States is tied with Germany as the biggest net contributor to the NATO common budget – yet the cost is a drop in the ocean in terms of domestic product (GDP), compared to other countries.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) budget for 2025 is approximately £3.8 billion (EUR 4.6 billion), but is paid for at different rates by each of the 32 member states.
The most recent member of NATO is Sweden, which joined in 2024. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but has repeatedly sought membership since Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The NATO budget is divided into three main parts: the civil budget, military budget, and NATO Security Investment Program.
When looking specifically at the NATO common budget, to which countries make direct contributions, Germany and the United States are both the highest payers overall.
The US contributes 15.8 per cent of the £3.8 billion budget, the same as Germany, a far cry from the “90 to 100 per cent” which Trump claimed in an interview last year.
For the estimated £3.8 billion in 2025, this will amount to around £603.4 million contributed to the NATO budget by the United States.
The United Kingdom is the third biggest contributor, at 11 per cent, amounting to approximately £416.6 million this year; followed by France (10.2 per cent) and then Italy (8.5 per cent).
Albania, Macedonia, Iceland and Montenegro all contribute less than 0.1 per cent of the common NATO budget. All four countries have a GDP worth less than 0.1 per cent of the United States.
