Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2009-2016)
NATO collects defence expenditure data from Allies on a regular basis and presents aggregates and subsets of this information. Each Allied country’s Ministry of Defence reports current and estimated future defence expenditure according to an agreed definition of defence expenditure. The amounts represent payments by a national government actually made, or to be made, during the course of the fiscal year to meet the needs of its armed forces or those of Allies. NATO also makes use of up-to-date economic and demographic information available from the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In view of differences between the definition of NATO defence expenditure and national definitions, the figures shown in this report may diverge considerably from those which are quoted by media, published by national authorities or given in national budgets. Equipment expenditure includes both spending on major equipment and on Research & Development expenditure devoted to major equipment. Personnel expenditure includes pensions paid to retirees.
The cut-off date for information used in this report is 15 February 2017. Figures for 2016 are estimates.
The figures presented are the same as those published in the Secretary General’s Annual Report 2016.