A large majority of Germans are in favour of the government spending at least 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence every year.

NATO member states have committed themselves to meeting this target.

In a survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of dpa, only 18 per cent of Germans said that 2 per cent of spending was too much for them.

On the other hand, 45 per cent think the level the German government is aiming for is just right, while 21 per cent would like to see even higher defence spending.

The German government has set itself the goal of spending 2 per cent of economic output on defence every year.

This figure is to be reached for the first time next year with the help of a special fund of 100 billion euros (110 billion dollars) that was decided in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

NATO estimated German defence spending to be 1.57 per cent this year.

The NATO states agreed in 2014 that all alliance states should approach the benchmark of 2 per cent by 2024.

Last Friday, shortly before their summit meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, they decided to make 2 per cent a minimum target.

In the future, all member states are to spend at least 2 per cent on defence.

Apart from Germany, almost 20 other NATO countries are currently short of the 2 per cent target.

However, Germans were divided on the issue of arms deliveries to Ukraine.

In the same survey, 38 per cent think Germany has supplied too many weapons to the country under attack from Russia.

About 32 per cent think the amount of military support is just right and 18 per cent think that even more weapons should have been delivered to Ukraine.

Germany is considered the second most important arms supplier to Ukraine after the U.S.

The data used was based on an online survey conducted by YouGov Deutschland GmbH, in which 2,116 respondents nationwide took part between June 30 and July 4.

The results were weighted and are representative of the German population aged 18 and over.