Czechia Allocates 2% of GDP for Defence for First Time in 20 Years in Accordance With NATO Standard

For the first time, the Czech government has fulfilled its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence, in line with the NATO minimum standard, the Czech Ministry of Defence reports.  

As of today, at least 24 out of 32 NATO member states have reached this target, while in 2021, only six countries met this goal.  

In 2024, the Czech Republic spent CZK 166.8 billion on defence, which is 2.09% of its GDP, according to November's macroeconomic forecasts. Thus, the country reached the target level a year earlier than planned.  

Defence Minister Jana Černohová noted that defence funding needs to grow further, as 2% of GDP should be a minimum level, not a ceiling.  

NATO will complete the final analysis of defence spending in the second quarter of this year, including an assessment of the methodology and official GDP data.  

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to join NATO even with the temporarily occupied territories. In this case, Article 5 of the Alliance will apply only to the territories controlled by Kyiv.