Government spending on defence in the UK 1999-2024

In 2023/24, the United Kingdom spent approximately 56.8 billion British pounds on defense, compared with 59 billion pounds in the previous year. This was the highest defense spending for the UK during this provided time period and the second consecutive year of increased defense expenditure. Between 2010/11 and 2016/17 defense expenditure was gradually reduced from 54.5 billion pounds, to just 46.7 billion pounds, and reflected the policy of austerity implemented by the government at that time. 

NATO and the two percent pledge

The UK is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) a military and political alliance initiated on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Members of NATO are expected to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense, a target which the United Kingdom just missed between 2015/16 and 2017/18 when it was 1.9 percent. Before 2016, the United Kingdom’s defense spending was always above this target and was higher than three percent of GDP before the mid-1990s. As of 2021, UK defense spending was slightly above this target, at 2.3 percent of GDP. In April 2024, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak announced that by the end of the 2020s, UK defense spending would, however, increase to 2.5 percent of GDP. 

The UK and the War in Ukraine

The recent pledge to increase UK defense spending is clearly linked to recent events in Europe. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 completely altered the European security landscape for the UK. Along with a coalition of other countries, the UK has been one of the key backers of the Ukrainian military effort, providing significant military aid over the course of the war. Apart from financial aid, the UK has provided Ukraine with equipment such as the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, a number of armored fighting vehicles, and missiles, including long-range Storm Shadow cruise-missiles.