Bulgaria Has Doubled Defence Spending over Past Decade, NATO Report Shows

Bulgaria has nearly doubled its defence spending over the past ten years, according to the annual report of the NATO Secretary General presented today, March 26. Between 2014 and 2025, defence expenditure rose from 1.31% of GDP to 2.14%.

Across the Alliance, NATO countries increased military spending by 2.77% of GDP last year. For Bulgaria, the annual rise in 2025 was 13.78%. The country remains among the allies with a relatively high share of spending on personnel, which accounted for 54.3% of total defence expenditure. Investments in infrastructure were the second largest category at 28.4%, while maintenance accounted for 16.9%.

Last year, NATO member states adopted a decision to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2030.