Bulgaria is positioning itself in the middle tier of NATO defense spending rankings, with 2025 data showing the country allocating 2.05% of its GDP to defense, a level that matches France and slightly exceeds Italy.
The figures place Sofia within what analysts describe as the Alliance’s “golden mean” - neither among the highest-spending frontline states nor below the core NATO threshold. The country is among 22 European Union and NATO members tracked in the comparison.
Officials highlight that Bulgaria is not only meeting the Alliance’s minimum requirement of 2% of GDP, but is also marginally above it, reflecting a broader European trend of increased military expenditure amid rising security concerns.
At 2.05%, Bulgaria records the same defense spending ratio as France, one of Europe’s principal military powers and a nuclear-armed state. Italy, by comparison, is slightly lower at 2.01%, placing Bulgaria ahead of it in this indicator.
Within the Balkan region, Bulgaria ranks third among EU and NATO members. Greece leads with 2.85% of GDP dedicated to defense, followed by Romania at 2.28%, while other regional countries remain closer to the minimum NATO benchmark.
