In 2019, the EU Member States’ general government expenditure on defence amounted to €168.5 billion, representing 2.6% of total general government expenditure. This is equivalent to 1.2% of GDP.
Since 2014, the share of defence expenditure in total government expenditure increased slightly, while the percentage of GDP remained stable at 1.2% of GDP.
In 2019, the ratio of general government expenditure on defence to GDP varied across EU Member States from 0.2% in Ireland and 0.4% in Luxembourg to 2.0% in Greece and 2.1% in Estonia.
Source:
Eurostat, 27 August 2021