{"id":1694,"date":"2021-01-29T19:23:23","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T19:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demilitarize.org.uk\/staging\/1381\/?page_id=1694"},"modified":"2021-03-27T21:22:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T21:22:06","slug":"uk-military-spending","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/demilitarize.org.uk\/staging\/1381\/uk-military-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Military Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n\n

How much does Britain spend on its military?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Basic figures<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The answer is not straightforward, since it depends how you define it. It is a complex subject, but i<\/strong><\/em>n <\/strong><\/em>round numbers, we can say that the UK spends <\/strong><\/em>approximately<\/strong><\/em> \u00a3<\/strong><\/em>50<\/strong><\/em>bn per annum from the public purse on the military.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

N<\/strong>ote<\/strong>: the available figures are sometimes those from the previous year, since there is a reporting lag. Furthermore, actual spending results are different from budgets (projections).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the UK case there is also a difference between Ministry of Defence<\/strong> (MoD) spending<\/strong> (as reported to Parliament) and Military spending<\/strong> (as reported to NATO). The figures for NATO<\/strong> <\/a>are higher, since they include a number of additional elements such as military pensions and British contributions to UN peacekeeping \u2013 in compliance with NATO reporting standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total “Core DEL” (Departmental Expenditure Limit) for Defence in the coming year, 2021-2022, is \u00a346.0 billion<\/strong> (\u00a331.4bn Resource, \u00a314.6bn Capital) out of \u00a3484.8bn total <\/strong>government spend, (just under 10%)  OR \u00a346bn out of \u00a3553.3 bn<\/strong> (8.5%) if you include all the covid-related special measures. The rounding up to \u00a350bn<\/strong> is to take account of the additional items reported to NATO. There are in any case persistent overruns in military equipment spending plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent history<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UK military spending rose significantly during the 2000s due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It then dropped from 2009-2015 due to the austerity cuts; then increased again after the Ukraine crisis. Current threat perceptions seem to relate more to China and Russia than to Islamist terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuclear weapons<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is especially important to mention the huge investment the UK government is making in the nuclear weapons system to replace Trident: estimated at \u00a3205bn<\/strong> over its lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recent <\/strong>i<\/strong>ncrease <\/strong>for subsequent years<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to the House on 19th November 2020, Boris Johnson committed to significant new spending on the UK\u2019s armed forces<\/a>, mostly on new hi-tech technologies such as AI, drones, and cyber warfare. The increase is entirely in capital expenditure, with small cuts to recurrent (personnel and operations) spending. This totals an additional \u00a316.5bn \u2013 amounting to a real terms increase of \u00a324bn when combined with the already declared increase of over \u00a37bn by 2024-25. This is a staggering sum to spend on weaponry at a time when the health, care and social systems of the UK are in crisis after ten years of government imposed austerity and the huge costs of the pandemic and its consequences. This announcement was made at the same time as the controversial \u00a34 bn cuts in the overseas aid budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In late April 2021 the global figures for 2020 are due to be published by the reputable Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current figures from SIPRI<\/a><\/strong> put global military spending in 2019 <\/strong>at  $1.9 trillion ($1,900,000,000,000), <\/strong>the largest annual increase in a decade, equivalent to 2.2% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) or $249 per person.  Here you can find a full record<\/a><\/strong> of military spending since 1988. The UK ranked eighth, spending \u00a345 billion<\/a><\/strong> i<\/a>n 2018\/2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a345 billion<\/strong> = \u00a3664 for every person in the country (including children) or an average of \u00a31,592 per household per annum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some comparisons, see this commentary by the Institute for Strategic Studies<\/a>: “Overall, Europe\u2019s defence spending in 2019 rose by 4.2% compared with 2018. These increases in Europe are part of an international trend. Global defence spending rose by 4.0% in real terms compared to 2018. In 2019, defence spending by both China and the US rose by 6.6%. The US increase alone \u2013 at US$53.4bn \u2013 almost equalled the UK\u2019s entire 2019 defence budget of US$54.8bn”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SIPRI\u2019s figures include: all current and capital expenditure on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n