site.btaBulgaria Nearly Doubles Defence Spending Over Past Decade - NATO Report

Between 2014 and 2025, Bulgaria nearly doubled its defence budget—from 1.31% of GDP to 2.14%, according to findings in the annual report of the NATO Secretary General, presented on Thursday.

Overall, last year NATO member countries increased their military spending to 2.77% of GDP. For Bulgaria, the year-on-year increase in 2025 was 13.78%, the data show. Bulgaria remains among the allies with a relatively high share of spending on military personnel - 54.3% of total defense expenditures, followed by infrastructure at 28.4%, while 16.9% went to maintenance.

Last year, NATO countries adopted a decision to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2030.