Lithuania is set to raise its defence expenditure to between 5% and 6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) beginning in 2026, in response to the perceived threat of Russian aggression in the region, as announced by President Gitanas Nausėda on 17 January.
Nausėda announced that the “historic decision” was made by the State Defence Council with the aim of reaching that level of expenditure from 2026 to 2030. As a NATO and EU member sharing borders with Russia and its ally Belarus, the nation currently allocates just over 3% of its GDP to defence.
“The possibility of Russian military aggression is still real, but not imminent. We need to increase our efforts to strengthen defence and deterrence significantly, devoting more resources to this end,” Nausėda said at a press conference in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.
Achieving the 5% target would position Lithuania as the NATO member with the highest defence expenditure relative to its GDP. Currently, Poland holds this distinction, allocating over 4% of its GDP to defence and is expected to near the 5% mark by year-end.
Lithuania’s declaration follows a recent statement by US President-elect Donald Trump, who urged NATO allies to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP, a benchmark that no member of the alliance has yet reached, up from the existing target of 2%.
