site.btaMost Bulgarians Support Increased Defence Spending - NATO Survey

Some 83% of Bulgarians are in favour of increased defence spending, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's Annual Report published on Tuesday. Another 8% of Bulgarians believe that their country should spend less, while 9% are undecided.

Bulgaria's defence expenditure in 2022 was 1.54% of GDP. The report indicates that only seven countries of the alliance meet the target of spending 2% of GDP on defence. Bulgaria is meeting the NATO target of at least a 20% share of equipment spending in the total national defence budget.

Some 55% of Bulgarians chose the option "I would vote for my country to stay a member of NATO", while 31% said they would not. Overall, there was an 8% increase in support for NATO among the countries of the pact. Over half of the respondents in Bulgaria, 57%, agree with the statement that the membership in NATO makes it less likely that a foreign nation will attack the country.