Finance
Sweden eyes defence spending at 3.5% of GDP in 2030, prime minister says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Sweden plans to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, exceeding earlier targets, in response to potential NATO goals and shifting U.S. focus.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Sweden provisionally plans to raise its defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, a bigger and faster ramp-up than previously planned, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday.
Defence spending has so far been projected to reach 2.4% of GDP this year and 2.6% in 2028, but government ministers have acknowledged more will be needed amid U.S. warnings that European security can no longer be Washington's primary focus.
The government believes NATO will soon set a goal for member states to spend between 3% and 4% of GDP, and Sweden will meet the new target, with a provisional estimate set at 3.5%, Kristersson told a press conference.
"It is difficult to know exactly where it will land. We are pushing for it to be high enough to significantly increase the European NATO countries' ability to defend Europe," he said.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik, editing by Louise Rasmussen)
The article discusses Sweden's plan to increase its defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, aligning with potential NATO targets.
Sweden is increasing its defence budget in anticipation of NATO setting a new spending goal and due to shifting U.S. focus away from European security.
Sweden's defence spending is projected at 2.4% of GDP in 2023 and 2.6% by 2028, with a new target of 3.5% by 2030.
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