This past week, the United Nations convened for its 80th General Assembly which was marked by high-level meetings across the international community. The main topics of interest were Gaza and humanitarian relief, as well as the current war in Ukraine. President Trump even issued an address at the assembly which blasted current immigration policies in Europe among other things. Needless to say, the General Assembly was not all about optics, speeches, and international intrigue. Instead, this served as a means for NATO members to move in a bilateral fashion in terms of addressing regional security concerns, i.e. Russia’s recent violation of NATO (Estonian) airspace for one.
In order for NATO to operate effectively in this manner, these nations must pony up their share of the costs to protect the skies over Europe. While the NATO meeting last month saw some member-states dragging their feet in terms of funding, Eastern European nations were not hesitant in their advocation of turning on the financial spigot. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at these NATO countries that are contributing the most to the Alliance.
To determine the NATO countries with the largest military defense budgets, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We ranked these countries based on their military defense budget. We also included supplemental information regarding purchasing power parity, foreign exchange/gold reserves, external debt, a composition of military assets, as well as the overall military strength score.
Here is a look at the countries with the largest defense budgets in NATO:
Why Are We Covering This?
Understanding NATO’s military dynamics is important when looking at the state of global security. Since its inception, NATO has played a pivotal role in shaping international relations through its collective defense and security framework. As geopolitical tensions continue to rise and new threats emerge, knowing and understanding NATO’s military capabilities is important for getting a clearer picture of the world stage. Not to mention, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among others, contribute significantly to NATO’s military strength, influencing global power balances and regional stability.
32. Montenegro
- Military defense budget: $148,100,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $1,574,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $17,115,000,000
- External debt: $2,958,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 11
- Total military vehicles: 471
- Total naval vessels: 14
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.9216 – #127 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Montenegro’s 7,850 total military personnel, which is composed of 2,350 active personnel and 5,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Montenegro’s tax base of 599,849 people.
31. Iceland
- Military defense budget: $312,400,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $5,809,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $26,155,000,000
- External debt: $22,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 0
- Total military vehicles: 150
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 3.5181 – #135 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Iceland’s membership fee in NATO since the country has no real military to speak of. All of this cash comes from Iceland’s tax base of 364,036 people.
30. North Macedonia
- Military defense budget: $388,421,700
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $5,015,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $42,444,000,000
- External debt: $11,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 20
- Total military vehicles: 1,108
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.4042 – #112 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for North Macedonia’s 7,250 total military personnel, which is composed of 9,000 active personnel, 60,000 reserves, and 3,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from North Macedonia’s tax base of 2.136 million people.
29. Albania
- Military defense budget: $558,862,420
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $6,455,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $49,592,000,000
- External debt: $7,312,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 19
- Total military vehicles: 1,796
- Total naval vessels: 19
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.6815 – #78 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Albania’s 9,100 total military personnel, which is composed of 6,600 active personnel, 2,000 reserves, and 500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Albania’s tax base of 3.107 million people.
28. Luxembourg
- Military defense budget: $726,092,925
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,977,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $88,533,000,000
- External debt: $4,730,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 1
- Total military vehicles: 182
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.6415 – #117 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Luxembourg’s 1,000 total military personnel, all of which is composed of active personnel, with no reserves and paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Luxembourg’s tax base of 671,254 people.
27. Slovenia
- Military defense budget: $886,860,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,370,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $102,036,000,000
- External debt: $55,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 39
- Total military vehicles: 1,428
- Total naval vessels: 2
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1016 – #96 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Slovenia’s 38,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 7,300 active personnel, 26,000 reserves, and 5,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Slovenia’s tax base of 2.098 million people.
26. Latvia
- Military defense budget: $1,138,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $4,957,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $71,154,000,000
- External debt: $44,180,400,000
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total military vehicles: 1,848
- Total naval vessels: 18
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1246 – #99 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Latvia’s 65,750 total military personnel, which is composed of 17,250 active personnel, 36,000 reserves, and 12,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Latvia’s tax base of 1.801 million people.
25. Croatia
- Military defense budget: $1,176,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $3,176,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $159,305,000,000
- External debt: $55,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 67
- Total military vehicles: 2,848
- Total naval vessels: 30
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.5074 – #75 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Croatia’s 36,425 total military personnel, which is composed of 14,325 active personnel, 20,100 reserves, and 2,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Croatia’s tax base of 4.150 million people.
24. Bulgaria
- Military defense budget: $1,373,232,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $46,334,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $214,061,000,000
- External debt: $27,138,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total military vehicles: 4,914
- Total naval vessels: 36
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2563 – #61 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Bulgaria’s 40,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 37,000 active personnel and 3,000 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from Bulgaria’s tax base of 6.783 million people.
23. Estonia
- Military defense budget: $1,463,360,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,593,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $57,377,000,000
- External debt: $26,400,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 5
- Total military vehicles: 1,685
- Total naval vessels: 8
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.2917 – #107 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Estonia’s 96,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 7,700 active personnel, 78,800 reserves, and 10,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Estonia’s tax base of 1.194 million people.
22. Lithuania
- Military defense budget: $2,388,900,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $6,168,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $132,712,000,000
- External debt: $44,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Total military vehicles: 1,263
- Total naval vessels: 14
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.9075 – #88 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Lithuania’s 141,150 total military personnel, which is composed of 23,000 active personnel, 104,000 reserves, and 14,150 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Lithuania’s tax base of 2.628 million people.
21. Slovakia
- Military defense budget: $2,656,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $11,288,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $213,053,000,000
- External debt: $127,600,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 41
- Total military vehicles: 3,074
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.3978 – #71 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Slovakia’s 19,500 total military personnel, which is composed entirely of active personnel, with no reserves or paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Slovakia’s tax base of 5.564 million people.
20. Hungary
- Military defense budget: $4,576,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $45,719,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $388,906,000,000
- External debt: $137,500,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 69
- Total military vehicles: 7,797
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0259 – #55 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Hungary’s 76,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 41,600 active personnel, 20,000 reserves, and 15,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Hungary’s tax base of 9.856 million people.
19. Portugal
- Military defense budget: $4,627,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $53,710,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $529,901,000,000
- External debt: $399,395,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 115
- Total military vehicles: 10,828
- Total naval vessels: 194
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6856 – #39 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Portugal’s 260,400 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,000 active personnel, 211,700 reserves, and 24,700 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Portugal’s tax base of 10.64 million people.
18. Greece
- Military defense budget: $6,500,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $13,608,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $375,780,000,000
- External debt: $550,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 558
- Total military vehicles: 61,888
- Total naval vessels: 192
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5337 – #30 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Greece’s 419,050 total military personnel, which is composed of 142,700 active personnel, 221,350 reserves, and 55,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Greece’s tax base of 10.46 million people.
17. Czechia
- Military defense budget: $6,750,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $148,379,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $519,007,000,000
- External debt: $211,200,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 99
- Total military vehicles: 6,340
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.9994 – #53 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Czechia’s 32,200 total military personnel, which is composed of 28,000 active personnel and 4,200 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from Czechia’s tax base of 10.84 million people.
16. Finland
- Military defense budget: $6,779,661,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $16,929,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $321,126,000,000
- External debt: $660,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 163
- Total military vehicles: 11,704
- Total naval vessels: 264
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8437 – #48 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Finland’s 947,800 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,000 active personnel, 870,000 reserves, and 53,800 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Finland’s tax base of 5.626 million people.
15. Denmark
- Military defense budget: $7,225,466,250
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $109,371,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $428,385,000,000
- External debt: $555,500,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total military vehicles: 3,856
- Total naval vessels: 50
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8109 – #45 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Denmark’s 83,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 20,000 active personnel, 12,000 reserves, and 51,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Denmark’s tax base of 5.973 million people.
14. Romania
- Military defense budget: $9,700,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $73,000,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $772,107,000,000
- External debt: $132,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 140
- Total military vehicles: 10,774
- Total naval vessels: 20
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8984 – #51 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Romania’s 151,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 81,300 active personnel, 55,000 reserves, and 15,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Romania’s tax base of 18.15 million people.
13. Norway
- Military defense budget: $9,710,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $80,459,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $449,528,000,000
- External debt: $716,144,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 97
- Total military vehicles: 6,552
- Total naval vessels: 43
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6811 – #38 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Norway’s 63,250 total military personnel, which is composed of 23,250 active personnel and 40,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Norway’s tax base of 5.510 million people.
12. Belgium
- Military defense budget: $10,200,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $40,813,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $751,592,000,000
- External debt: $1,449,264,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 108
- Total military vehicles: 4,606
- Total naval vessels: 9
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2564 – #62 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Belgium’s 31,400 total military personnel, which is composed of 25,000 active personnel and 6,400 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from Belgium’s tax base of 11.98 million people.
11. Sweden
- Military defense budget: $13,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $60,863,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $676,353,000,000
- External debt: $1,002,448,700,000
- Total military aircraft: 169
- Total military vehicles: 6,795
- Total naval vessels: 308
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4835 – #27 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Sweden’s 82,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,400 active personnel, 32,900 reserves, and 25,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Sweden’s tax base of 10.59 million people.
10. Spain
- Military defense budget: $23,397,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $103,089,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,242,000,000,000
- External debt: $2,572,738,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 461
- Total military vehicles: 17,626
- Total naval vessels: 152
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3242 – #17 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Spain’s 226,902 total military personnel, which is composed of 133,282 active personnel, 15,150 reserves, and 78,470 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Spain’s tax base of 47.28 million people.
9. Netherlands
- Military defense budget: $27,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $69,830,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,240,000,000,000
- External debt: $4,779,954,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 120
- Total military vehicles: 2,755
- Total naval vessels: 64
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6412 – #36 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for the Netherlands’ 53,145 total military personnel, which is composed of 41,380 active personnel, 6,765 reserves, and 5,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from the Netherlands’ tax base of 17.77 million people.
8. Italy
- Military defense budget: $30,890,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $247,396,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,097,000,000,000
- External debt: $2,750,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 729
- Total military vehicles: 73,480
- Total naval vessels: 196
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2164 – #10 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Italy’s 289,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 165,500 active personnel, 18,500 reserves, and 105,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Italy’s tax base of 60.96 million people.
7. Canada
- Military defense budget: $41,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $117,551,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,238,000,000,000
- External debt: $2,337,375,700,000
- Total military aircraft: 351
- Total military vehicles: 21,704
- Total naval vessels: 73
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5179 – #28 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Canada’s 100,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 68,000 active personnel, 27,000 reserves, and 5,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Canada’s tax base of 38.79 million people.
6. Turkey
- Military defense budget: $47,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $140,858,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,936,000,000,000
- External debt: $294,441,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,083
- Total military vehicles: 61,173
- Total naval vessels: 182
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1902 – #9 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Turkey’s 883,900 total military personnel, which is composed of 355,200 active personnel, 378,700 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Turkey’s tax base of 84.12 million people.
5. Poland
- Military defense budget: $48,700,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $193,783,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,616,000,000,000
- External debt: $386,947,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 479
- Total military vehicles: 23,138
- Total naval vessels: 62
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3776 – #22 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Poland’s 602,100 total military personnel, which is composed of 202,100 active personnel, 350,000 reserves, and 50,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from Poland’s tax base of 38.75 million people.
4. Germany
- Military defense budget: $50,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $322,700,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $5,230,000,000,000
- External debt: $6,238,609,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 584
- Total military vehicles: 83,260
- Total naval vessels: 61
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2601 – #14 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for Germany’s 215,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 181,600 active personnel and 34,000 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from Germany’s tax base of 84.12 million people.
3. France
- Military defense budget: $55,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $240,792,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,764,000,000,000
- External debt: $6,992,104,900,000
- Total military aircraft: 976
- Total military vehicles: 110,932
- Total naval vessels: 129
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1878 – #8 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for France’s 376,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 200,000 active personnel, 26,000 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, this cash comes from France’s tax base of 68.37 million people.
2. United Kingdom
- Military defense budget: $71,500,540,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $177,915,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,700,000,000,000
- External debt: $9,593,749,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 631
- Total military vehicles: 38,200
- Total naval vessels: 109
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1785 – #6 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for the United Kingdom’s 1,108,860 total military personnel, which is composed of 184,860 active personnel and 924,000 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from the United Kingdom’s tax base of 68.46 million people.
1. United States
- Military defense budget: $895,000,000,000
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $773,426,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $24,662,000,000,000
- External debt: $22,303,546,100,000
- Total military aircraft: 13,043
- Total military vehicles: 391,963
- Total naval vessels: 440
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.0744 – #1 out of 145
For the most part, these finances go to pay for the United States’ 2,127,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 1,328,000 active personnel and 799,500 reserves. At the same time, this cash comes from the United States’ tax base of 341.96 million people.
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