Italy's military spending was 1.51%
of GDP in 2022, NATO said Tuesday.
Rome has vowed to raise its military sending to 2% of GDP in
line with NATO demands.
Italian military expenditure in 2022 was 1.51% of GDP while in
2021 the figure was 1.57%, according to the estimates published
in NATO's annual report.
The report shows that in 2014 - the year of Russia's annexation
of Crimea and the start of hostilities in the eastern Ukraine
Donbass region - Italy's defence spending as a percentage of GDP
was 1.14%.
That spending, the report said, grew in real terms to $1.930
billion last year (again based on 2015 prices), up from $1.1861
billion in 2021.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday he expected
the 2% pledge to be a budget minimum.
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