On the one hand, Russia is resurging; simultaneously, Poland is emerging as a major military and economic power center in Europe.
Poland is NATO’s largest defense spender relative to its economy. In 2024, Poland spent 4.12 % of its GDP on defense, the highest among the 32 NATO countries and even ahead of the US’ 3.38 % spending on defense.
Poland’s defense spending is set to rise further to 4.7% of its GDP in 2025. In real terms, Poland’s US$35 billion defense bill this year could surpass that of its ex-Communist Central European and Baltic neighbors combined. […]
What is impressive is that Poland has doubled the size of its armed forces in just 10 years. In 2014, Poland had 99,000 armed personnel, but by 2024, its armed forces had grown to 216,000 personnel.
However, the standing armies of European countries are much smaller than Russia and Ukraine. According to estimates, Russia has over 1.5 million active military personnel, and Ukraine has over 800,000. Läs artikel