Ranked:
5th (2012)

British Military Budget

See the chart below for a yearly breakdown of military spending in United Kingdom. (2001 to 2012)

Military Spending in United Kingdom

Our latest data shows that United Kingdom spent $59,795,000,000 on their military in 2012 which amounted to 2.5% of the country's GDP that year. Check out the chart below for more British military budget data. We can only publish the past 12 years, but SIPRI has data as far back as 1988 on their site.

Total Spent: $705,270,000,000 (Last 12 years)

Year Dollars Spent % GDP
2001 $49,945,000,000 2.4%
2002 $53,183,000,000 2.5%
2003 $57,009,000,000 2.5%
2004 $57,669,000,000 2.5%
2005 $58,154,000,000 2.4%
2006 $58,531,000,000 2.3%
Year Dollars Spent % GDP
2007 $60,379,000,000 2.3%
2008 $63,074,000,000 2.5%
2009 $64,301,000,000 2.7%
2010 $62,946,000,000 2.6%
2011 $60,284,000,000 2.5%
2012 $59,795,000,000 2.5%

Note on Data: Constant (2011) US Dollars are used. For more information about this data visit SIPRI.org.

SIPRI Footnote: From 2001, the UK moved from a cash based accounting system to a resource based system. The figures for the UK from 2001 are based on the "Net Cash Requirement" figures given in the Annual UK Defence Statistics, which are closest to the old cash definition. The Net Cash Requirement definition differ slightly from the cash definition used up to 2000. The effect on the figures for UK military expenditure is unknown.

Other Countries in the Region

Maltese Flag Malta
$56 Million (2012)
Hungarian Flag Hungary
$1,100 Million (2012)
Slovak Flag Slovakia
$1,072 Million (2012)
Spanish Flag Spain
$12,185 Million (2012)
Finnish Flag Finland
$3,856 Million (2012)
Icelandic Flag Iceland
$18 Million (2012)
Portuguese Flag Portugal
$3,980 Million (2012)
Macedonian Flag Macedonia
$139 Million (2012)

United Kingdom's Military Branches

Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force.

Military Service Age in United Kingdom

16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); no conscription; women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; as of October 2009, women comprised 12.1% of officers and 9% of enlisted personnel in the regular forces; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens.