More US: Greece spends 3.65% of GDP on defense

Greece entered the top five NATO countries which already in 2026 fulfill new alliance target for core defense spending: at least 3.5% of GDP. According to NATO, Athens is sending for these purposes 3.65% GDP.

Updated NATO data was published on the eve of the summit of alliance leaders in Ankara. According to Reutersalready in 2026, five countries must meet the 3.5% of GDP target for basic defense: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Greece.

Lithuania is in first place with a score 5.33% of GDP. Next come Estonia – 5.1%Latvia – 4.92%Poland – 4.68% and Greece – 3.65%. That is, Athens found itself in the same group not with large Western European economies, but with the states of the eastern flank, which directly perceive the threat as a matter of survival.

What exactly does NATO require?

At a summit in The Hague in 2025, the allies agreed to raise the previous target of 2% of GDP. The new scheme stipulates that by 2035, NATO countries must send at least 3.5% of GDP on basic defense needs: weapons, personnel, combat readiness and achievement of alliance goals. Even before 1.5% of GDP should go toward broader security-related spending: cyber defense, critical infrastructure, resilience and defense industry. This follows from NATO’s official clarification on the new defense investment commitment. NATO: Defense investment and 5% commitment.

Formally, we are not talking about one indicator, “5% for the army,” but about two baskets: 3.5% for defense itself, another 1.5% for broader security. But in the political narrative this is increasingly being sold as NATO’s new big target of 5% of GDP. Because round numbers are more convenient for summits, press releases and sudden presidential demands.

Pressure on allies has increased sharply since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Washington is demanding that European countries and Canada increase spending faster and rely less on the American budget. In this sense, Greece can present the figures without much shame: it has long spent more than the old standard of 2% on defense.

Greece spends more than the US as a share of GDP

According to new estimates, the US will allocate major defense in 2026 3.17% of GDP. This is lower than the Greek figure of 3.65%. Germany is at the level 2.69%UK – 2.56%France – 2.22%Italy – approx. 2.1%Belgium – 2%.

In general, the European NATO countries and Canada, according to the alliance, will reach 2.53% of GDP on the main defense. This is higher than the old target of 2%, but noticeably lower than the new 3.5%.

This position is not new for Greece. “Athens News” wrote back in 2022 that the country occupied one of the first places in NATO in defense spending after large-scale purchases of military equipment. Greece ranks 1st in terms of spending in NATO.

Why does Athens spend so much?

The main reason for Greek spending is not the desire to please Brussels or Washington, but its own geography. Greece lives next to Turkey, has long maritime borders, disputed areas in the Aegean Sea, the Cyprus issue, migration pressure and growing competition in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis has previously explicitly said that Greece has traditionally spent more than 2% of GDP on defense due to its geographical conditions and national priorities. “Athens News” quoted his words after a meeting of the European People’s Party in Zagreb, where the prime minister explained the increase in defense spending as a “necessary price of security.” Mitsotakis in Zagreb: 3% of GDP for defense is a necessary price for security.

In recent years, Athens has launched major rearmament programs: the French Rafale, Belharra frigates, F-16 Viper upgrades, plans for the F-35, fleet renewal, air defense, unmanned systems and strengthening the defense industry. The Athens News also wrote about the 12 major rearmament programs that Mitsotakis spoke about at the NATO summit. 12 largest rearmament programs of the Greek Armed Forces.

High costs do not equal high returns

However, a high percentage of GDP by itself does not answer the main question: how effectively this money is converted into real opportunities. Arms procurement, maintenance, personnel, ammunition, base modernization, local production and the defense industry are different things. You can spend beautifully, but build a system poorly. States are known to be very good at buying expensive items and then being surprised that without people, repairs and spare parts they do not become a strategy.

That is why a new course to support the defense industry is important. “Athens News” wrote that Greece is preparing a special regime for €150 million: Subsidies up to 75%, tax incentives and accelerated licensing for defense sector companies. Greece is preparing up to 75% subsidies for the defense industry.

In addition, Athens has joined the European SAFE program and will have access to preferential defense loans EU to €787.7 million. This can speed up modernization, but is not free money: loans will still need to be serviced. Greece will receive a preferential loan of up to €788 million for defense from the EU.

Political subtext

For Mitsotakis, these data are useful on the international stage. With Trump demanding that allies “pay more,” Greece can show that it is already above the new 3.5% cap on core defense. This reduces the risk of American claims against Athens and allows us to talk about Greece as a “responsible ally.”

But within the country, such figures sound different. Against a backdrop of expensive housing, high prices, pressure on families and chronic health problems, the 3.65% of GDP figure for defense inevitably raises the question of how much security costs and who pays the bill. The answer is unpleasant: everyone pays, even those who have never seen a frigate closer than in the photo in the news.

There is one more nuance. Greece spends a lot, but the political returns from allies do not always look comparable. Athens News recently wrote about Mitsotakis’ awkward role at the NATO summit amid the Trump-Erdogan rapprochement. Trump, Erdogan and the awkward role of Mitsotakis. If Ankara moves closer to the F-35 program again, the issue of balance in the Aegean Sea will return with renewed vigor.

Main conclusion

Greece is already among the five NATO countries in 2026 meeting the new target of 3.5% of GDP for basic defense. According to the alliance, Athens spends 3.65% of GDP and is ahead of the United States, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy in this indicator.

This is a good example of “burden sharing” for NATO. For Greece, this is a confirmation of the old reality: security in the Eastern Mediterranean is expensive, especially with tense relations with Turkey. But now the question is no longer whether Athens is spending enough. The question is whether for the money they get real defense power, political protection and industrial returns, and not just a nice place in the NATO table.

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