In 2006, NATO defense ministers initially agreed to spend 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. In response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, allied leaders formally pledged to reach the 2% guideline over the next decade. However, as of mid-2023, only eleven member states of the 31-member bloc are on track to meet this target: the United States, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Greece, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. Consequently, the 2% defense spending guideline has remained a point of debate and controversy within the alliance. This debate has been especially contentious between the United States, the leading overall contributor to NATO, and larger western European member states that have failed to reach the minimum spending target. Now, as the war in Ukraine continues and the U.S. remains the largest contributor of defensive aid to Ukraine in total terms, the topic of “burden sharing” remains front and center among NATO allies. The 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius represents yet another forum for member states to pledge commitments to meet the 2% defense spending guideline.

The question will resolve based on data from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 2023 compendium of defense expenditures indicating how many NATO member states are spending at least 2% of GDP on defense.