Bulgaria Near the Bottom in Per Capita Defense Costs as Europe Boosts Military Budgets

Bulgaria spent around 2 billion euros on defense in 2024, placing the country 19th among EU member states. Eight nations fall behind Bulgaria in this ranking, including Croatia, Estonia and Latvia, despite the latter two being situated much closer to Russia’s borders, BGNES reported.

Across the European Union, defense spending reached 343.2 billion euros last year. This represents a near doubling compared to 2020, when military budgets totaled 198 billion euros. The dramatic rise is largely tied to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which prompted European governments to rapidly increase investments in security and defense capabilities.

This upward trajectory is expected to continue. Beyond the ongoing conflict to the east, Europe is also facing shifting transatlantic dynamics, with U.S. support for NATO’s European members becoming less predictable during President Donald Trump’s second term. Combined, these factors are pushing EU countries to boost their own defense commitments.

Two countries dominate the EU’s defense landscape. Germany and France together account for 44 percent of all military spending, allocating 90.6 billion euros and 59.6 billion euros respectively. Italy follows with 32.7 billion euros. In fourth place is Poland, which has sharply expanded its military budget to 31.9 billion euros in an effort to strengthen its regional influence. Spain ranks fifth with 22.7 billion euros.

Among the Balkan EU members, Romania stands out with the largest defense budget, reaching 7.9 billion euros in 2023. Its role in NATO’s Eastern Flank has grown steadily, underlined by major infrastructure projects in the Black Sea region and around the port of Constanța. Greece follows in 12th place with 6.5 billion euros. Although slightly below Romania in spending, Athens maintains a highly capable professional army and continues to invest heavily due to its longstanding security tensions with Ankara.

Croatia and Slovenia both remain below Bulgaria in overall defense spending, allocating 1.6 billion euros and 0.9 billion euros respectively.

When measured per capita, Bulgaria ranks near the bottom of the EU. With defense spending of just 315 euros per person, the country is ahead only of Ireland and Malta. Greece again tops the Balkan region in this metric with 615 euros per capita, placing it 13th in the EU. Other Balkan members cluster at the lower end of the ranking, with Slovenia at 426 euros, Romania at 414 euros and Croatia at 406 euros.

At the top of the EU per-capita rankings is the Netherlands, spending 1,540 euros per resident. Germany, despite its large absolute budget, ranks fifth with 1,069 euros. Only five EU countries currently exceed 1,000 euros per capita in defense expenditure.