What countries are in Nato and how much do they spend on defence?

Nato’s 32 members have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence and safety by 2035.

The transfer follows months of strain from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly stated European allies don’t spend sufficient.

Talking after the Nato Summit within the Hague, the leaders additionally restated their “ironclad dedication to collective defence”, which is about out in Article 5 of Nato’s founding treaty.

Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Group – was fashioned in Washington DC in 1949 by 12 international locations.

The founding members had been Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the US.

Nato’s primary purpose was to dam enlargement in Europe by the previous Soviet Union – a gaggle of communist republics which included Russia.

Article 5 says members agree that if one of them is attacked, the others will help defend it.

Trump had earlier appeared to lift questions in regards to the mutual defence assure, however Nato secretary common Mark Rutte insisted the US remained dedicated to the precept.

The alliance doesn’t have its personal military, however member states can take collective army motion in response to worldwide crises.

As an illustration, Nato supported the UN by intervening within the struggle within the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 2004.

It additionally co-ordinates military plans and carries out joint military exercises.

Nato has 32 members throughout Europe and North America – the unique 12 founders plus 20 international locations which have joined since 1949.

After the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, many Jap European international locations grew to become members, together with Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Finland – which has a 1,340km (832 mile) land border with Russia – joined in April 2023. Sweden grew to become a member in March 2024.

Having been impartial for many years, both applied to Nato in May 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia have additionally requested to hitch.

Nato members are presently anticipated to spend 2% of their nationwide earnings, or GDP on defence, though it’s not a legally-binding dedication.

The US and international locations that are near Russia – akin to Poland and the Baltic states – have historically spent probably the most.

The latest Nato estimates present 9 members failed to fulfill the two% goal in 2024, with Spain spending the least.

Russia has constantly opposed the concept of Ukraine changing into a member, fearing it will carry Nato forces too near its borders.

Nonetheless, in 2008, the alliance stated that Ukraine could eventually join.

After Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested for this course of to be fast-tracked.

Former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg stated Ukraine may be a part of “in the long run” however not till after the struggle ended.