On average, the EU-27 countries spent 1.2 percent of their GDP on military defense in 2020. Greece, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania all spent over two percent of their GDP for defense purposes. These four countries were consequently the only countries that fulfilled the NATO's two percent requirement agreed upon in 2006. Geopolitical consideration like the proximity to Russia as well as their histories are likely to have played a role in Latvia's and Estonia's decision for higher national defense investments than other European countries. The two biggest economies in the European Union, France and Germany, were under the two percent mark with 1.7 and 1.1 percent, respectively.
General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020
Government expenditure by COFOG (UNSD classification of functions of government, replicated in ESA2010) function and type notified by national authorities in Table 11 of the ESA 2010 transmission program.
The data refers to Section [GF0201] of the Eurostat Database Statistic, online data code [GOV_10A_EXP].
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Eurostat. (February 28, 2022). General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 28, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/
Eurostat. "General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020." Chart. February 28, 2022. Statista. Accessed December 28, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/
Eurostat. (2022). General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 28, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/
Eurostat. "General Government Expenditure on Military Defense as a Percentage of Gdp in Countries of The European Union in 2020." Statista, Statista Inc., 28 Feb 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/
Eurostat, General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/ (last visited December 28, 2024)
General government expenditure on military defense as a percentage of GDP in countries of the European Union in 2020 [Graph], Eurostat, February 28, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1293562/expenditure-on-military-defense-as-gdp-share-in-the-european-union-eu-27/
