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Written question asked by Lord Jopling (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 January 2020, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 22 January 2020. It was answered by Baroness Goldie (Conservative) on Wednesday, 22 January 2020 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Expenditure

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of defence spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (1) currently spent by members of NATO, and (2) spent by each member of NATO at the time of the 2014 Wales NATO summit.

Answer

Please see the table below for levels of defence spending by % of GDP currently spent by members of NATO, and spent by each member of NATO at the time of the 2014 Wales NATO summit.

This information is according to the NATO press release (COMMUNIQUE PR/CP(2019)123) ‘Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2013-2019)’ published on 29 November 2019.

https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_11/20191129_pr-2019-123-en.pdf

Defence expenditures as per cent of GDP - Based on 2015 prices and exchange rates

Nation

Defence expenditure as a % of GDP 2014

Defence expenditure as a % of GDP 2019e (current)

Albania

1.35

1.26

Belgium

0.98

0.93

Bulgaria*

1.32

3.25

Canada

1.01

1.31

Croatia

1.84

1.68

Czech Republic

0.95

1.19

Denmark

1.15

1.32

Estonia

1.93

2.14

France

1.82

1.84

Germany

1.18

1.38

Greece

2.21

2.28

Hungary

0.86

1.21

Italy

1.14

1.22

Latvia

0.94

2.01

Lithuania

0.88

2.03

Luxembourg

0.38

0.56

Montenegro

1.50

1.66

Netherlands

1.15

1.36

Norway

1.55

1.80

Poland

1.85

2.00

Portugal

1.31

1.52

Romania

1.35

2.04

Slovak Republic

0.99

1.74

Slovenia

0.97

1.04

Spain

0.92

0.92

Turkey

1.45

1.89

United Kingdom

2.16

2.14

United States

3.73

3.42

* Defence Expenditure does not include pensions.

e - Figures for 2019 are estimates

According to NATO’s latest spending figures, the UK’s Defence spending has increased year-on-year since 2017.

When looking at Defence spending, it is not appropriate to compare ‘like for like’ because the nature of Defence spending changes over time.

Defence spending is about assessing the threats we face and ensuring that we have the capabilities necessary to deal with them.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL221
Session
2019-21
Subjects
Defence Expenditure NATO countries
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk