Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Nearly 2% of Bulgaria's GDP goes to defense

Photo: MMA -library

In 2020, Bulgaria has allocated 1.93 percent of its GDP for defense, according to a NATO analysis. That's 150 USD per capita in the country. Most of these funds go for salaries - 56%. 18% goes to training and maintenance, 19.4% goes to new equipment and research, and 6.9% of the money is spent on infrastructure.

Due to the eight F16 aircraft purchased in 2019, the defense funds then reached 3.18 percent of GDP. In 2014, NATO countries adopted a goal for defense money to reach 2% of GDP by 2024. In 2020 Bulgaria almost meets this criterion, as 6 years ago it set aside for defense just 1.3% of national GDP.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Support for protesting Serbian students in Pirot.

Bulgarians and Serbs from Tsaribrod and Pirot support student protests

Bulgarians and Serbs from the towns of Tsaribrod and Pirot marched in support of the student protests in Serbia , reports BTA. "We want the students' demands to be met and we hope that there will be changes in Serbia," demonstrators from the two towns in..

published on 2/16/25 10:27 AM

Balkan Stream pipeline exempted from US sanctions on Gazprombank transactions until March 2025

The Balkan Stream gas pipeline will not be subject to US sanctions for transactions with Russia's Gazprombank. This was revealed in a written answer to a parliamentary question to Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov. On December 23, 2024, the Ministry of..

published on 2/16/25 9:45 AM
Timco Mucunski (L) and Georg Georgiev (R)

North Macedonia's EU membership goes through the inclusion of Bulgarians in its constitution

Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev met with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski during the Munich Security Conference. Georg Georgiev emphasized that Bulgaria's position regarding the European integration of North..

published on 2/15/25 5:25 PM