§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of United Kingdom gross national product was taken up by defence spending; and how this compares with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.
§ Mr. MasonDefence spending in 1975 as a percentage of GNP is set out in Table 6 of Annex A of the 1976 Statement on the Defence Estimates for the NATO countries. For Sweden and Eire the figures are estimated to be 4 per cent. and 1.5 per cent. respectively. Owing to differences of definition the latter figures may not be strictly comparable with those for NATO.