Despite NATO membership prompting many countries to reduce defense spending and shift collective security responsibilities, Finland, which joined the alliance in April 2023, is demonstrating a markedly different approach.
The Finnish government has outlined a truly ambitious plan to increase defense expenditures, aiming to reach approximately €11 billion by 2032. For comparison, in 2020, the figure was $3.5 billion. In 2024, the country allocated around €6 billion for defense, exceeding NATO members' requirements and spending 2.41% of its GDP on defense.
Moreover, 45.8% of this amount was directed towards the acquisition of armaments, with a standard requirement of 20%. By 2025, defense spending is already projected to be €6.5 billion.
Another noteworthy aspect is that the initial source of funding for increasing defense spending came from cuts to social benefits. Despite significant criticism from trade unions, the current conservative government's plan to boost defense spending has garnered support even from opposition parties.
As a point of reference, we can also mention the United States' spending level in the past year, which stood at 3.38%. However, for Finland, this makes perfect sense, given that the country shares a 1,272 km land border with the Russian Federation. Looking at NATO member countries' defense expenditures in 2024, Finland ranked seventh among all NATO nations. Among European countries, only Latvia (2.85%), Lithuania (3.15%), Estonia (3.43%), and Poland (4.12%) had a higher proportion of defense spending relative to GDP.
Only Greece, with 3.08% for 2024, is the sole NATO European country with defense spending exceeding Finland's, despite not sharing a border with Russia. The reason for this is its proximity to Turkey, which spent 2.09% this year. Additionally, all these countries have also declared further increases in their defense budgets for 2025.