Total spending reported to the defense alliance this year would amount to $73.41 billion. In absolute numbers, this would be a record amount for Germany, which has increased its spending mainly in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to current NATO forecasts, that amount amounts to 2.01 percent of German GDP, just above the minimum target. The last time Berlin met the target dates back to 1992, according to documents from the NATO archives. Before that, in the Cold War years, German defense spending was usually above 3 percent of GDP.
About 20 of NATO’s 31 member states are expected to meet the 2 percent target this year.