Our defense spending has surpassed the 2% threshold! We've moved up to the next level in NATO.

YEŞİM ERASLAN - Turkey, which has strengthened its place in the league of giants with the projects it has implemented in the defense industry, has also reflected this in the NATO report.

According to the table in NATO 's new defense spending report, Turkey's defense spending in 2025 will reach $37.5 billion. This figure was $17.2 billion in 2022 and $28.2 billion in 2023. Turkey's defense share, which was 1.36 percent in 2022, increased to 1.48 percent in 2023. NATO estimates this ratio will rise to 2.13 percent in 2024 and 2.33 percent in 2025. This reveals that Turkey has once again entered the category of countries that have exceeded NATO's historical "2 percent criterion." Thus, Turkey has shifted its defense economy scale within NATO from the "mid-segment" to the level of a "high-volume second-tier power."

Türkiye COMES AFTER THE USA

Türkiye's force structure also demonstrates its weight within NATO in terms of personnel. Turkey, with one of the largest personnel pools after the United States, increased its troop count from 455,900 in 2022 to 463,700 in 2023. NATO's forecast points to 480,000 troops in 2024 and approximately 495,000 in 2025. This figure demonstrates that Türkiye maintains ample active force capacity and maintains this capacity within an environment of fiscal discipline.

While it is noteworthy that the number of soldiers in the UK was 143,600 in 2022 and this number dropped to 138,100 in 2024, Italy, which had 170,000 soldiers in 2022, aims to increase this number to 171,200 in 2025. France, which had 207,100 soldiers in 2022, had its number of military personnel drop to 204,700 in 2024.

GREECE IS FAR BEHIND US

Greece, the country most often compared to Türkiye in NATO data, is projecting defense spending of approximately $7.6 billion in 2025. Turkey, on the other hand, is projected to be in the $37.5 billion range. While Athens's spending is higher in percentage terms, it lags far behind Türkiye in terms of volume due to its economic base.

The situation remains unchanged regarding active personnel. Greece's figure remains at 110,000, while Türkiye's 2025 projection is 495,000. The difference is 4.5 times greater. Türkiye's defense spending, which stood at $13.6 billion in 2014, is targeted to reach $37.5 billion in 2025. Thus, Turkey is moving its defense economy scale within NATO from a "mid-segment" to a "high-volume second-tier power" in 11 years.

The USA has the largest budget

The United States is the undisputed leader in the alliance, with a defense spending of approximately $845 billion in 2025. On the European side, the United Kingdom is expected to spend approximately $90.5 billion ( 2.40 percent of its GDP) ; France is expected to spend $66.5 billion (2.03 percent of its GDP) ; and Denmark is expected to spend approximately $14.3 billion (3.22 percent of its GDP) . Poland is expected to increase this figure to 4.48 billion.