Balkan Defence Monitor: Serbia Recorded Largest Defence Expenditure in Region

North Macedonia should this year exceed the so-called NATO level of defence costs, which should represent 2.05% of the GDP. Currently, in the Western Balkans, Serbia invests the most in defence.

However, according to the recently published Balkan Defence Monitor 2024, North Macedonia and Albania will most likely take the lead.

“After a couple of years marked by steady increase of defence expenditure across the region, this increase has slowed down in 2023. Serbia recorded the largest defence expenditure in the region and was again the only country to reach the 2% GDP defence spending threshold in 2023.

However, based on planned budgets for 2024, Serbia will decrease its defence spending to 1.8%, while North Macedonia and Albania plan to increase their expenditure above the 2% threshold. It remains to be seen whether the actual expenditure will follow these plans, since in 2023 the two countries underspent their respective defence budgets by approximately 12%,” it is said in the document.