Sun-soaked Greece may not immediately come to mind as a top defense spender — but only four NATO allies spent a bigger slice of their GDP on security than the Mediterranean country last year.
In addition to the U.S., NATO estimates show that tally includes Poland, Latvia and Estonia, which ramped up their defense expenditures in response to Russian aggression in recent years.
Greece has meanwhile consistently been a big defense spender, spending around 3.1% of its GDP on defense in 2024.
At the core of Athens’ defense spending motivations is its tense and fractious relationship with fellow NATO ally Turkey.
Greece and Turkey have “a lot of historical baggage,” Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at Bruegel, told CNBC.
