Swedish Government to Increase Defence Budget to 2.8% of GDP in 2026
The Swedish government will raise its defence budget for 2026 by 26.6 billion crowns (around 2.87 billion USD), Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced on Monday.
“This is the next big step in equipping the Swedish defence,” Kristersson said at a press conference. “We have increased the defence budget by 100 billion crowns since 2022. It is unprecedented unless you go back to the very worst days of the Cold War.”
The increase represents an 18% rise compared to 2025, lifting defence expenditure to 2.8% of GDP in 2026. Sweden is aiming to align with NATO’s newly set goal of 3.5% of GDP for core defence spending. The government expects spending to reach 3.1% of GDP by 2028.
The extra funds will be directed towards air defence systems, rocket artillery, combat ships, and tactical transport aircraft. They will also be used to improve salaries for officers and conscripts.
Context
Since 2022, Sweden has already raised its defence budget by 100 billion crowns, marking one of the largest military build-ups in modern Swedish history. The move comes after Sweden’s NATO accession and growing concerns over European security following Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Sweden’s Defence Spending Over the Past Decade
Below is a look at Sweden’s military spending over the past ten years, expressed in billions of US dollars:
| Year | Defence Spending (USD, billions) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | ~5.9 |
| 2015 | ~6.2 |
| 2016 | ~5.7 |
| 2017 | ~6.2 |
| 2018 | ~6.6 |
| 2019 | ~6.8 |
| 2020 | ~6.9 |
| 2021 | ~7.6 |
| 2022 | ~7.7 |
| 2023 | ~8.7 |
| 2024 | ~12.0 |
Analysis
Sweden’s defence budget has nearly doubled in just a decade, with the sharpest increase seen after 2022. The country has shifted from spending under 6 billion USD in 2014 to around 12 billion USD in 2024.
With the new plan for 2026, Sweden is moving from around 2.2–2.4% of GDP in recent years to nearly 3% of GDP, a pace of growth rarely seen in Swedish defence policy since the Cold War era.
This trajectory places Sweden firmly on track to become one of NATO’s higher spenders relative to GDP, reinforcing its role in European security and collective defence.
