HC Deb 20 October 1982 vol 29 cc166-8W
Sir Patrick Wall

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expenditure of each North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nation, including Spain, on defence as a percentage of gross national product and on a per capita basis.

Mr. Blaker

The most up-to-date information available for countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is for 1981, at which time Spain was not a member of the organisation. The information is as follows:

Country Defence spending as per cent of GDP Defence spending per capita (US $)
Belgium 3.3 348
Canada 1.8 211
Denmark 2.5 280
France 4.2 442
Germany 3.4 377
Greece 5.9 238
Italy 2.5 151
Luxembourg 1.3 130
Netherlands 3.2 319
Norway 2.9 402
Portugal 3.6 84
Turkey 4.8 62
United Kingdom 4.9 439
United States 5.8 730

Notes:

These figures are provisional and based on NATO definitions of defence expenditure.

They are expressed at average 1981 exchange rates.

Defence expenditure of NATO nations is calculated as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product rather than Gross National Product.

Defence spending for Iceland is negligible.

For information concerning Spain, I refer the hon. Member to the International Institute for Strategic Studies publication "The Military Balance, 1982–83".