The 1996 figures put British defence spending at 502 dollars per person after adjustment to a common 1990 price and exchange-rate basis. That was below France at 658 dollars, Norway at 777, and the United States at 861. Britain also sat below the 552-dollar NATO average but above the 372-dollar European average excluding the United States and Canada. The comparison supports the interpretation that Britain carried a plausible burden for the operations and capable force it maintained rather than an unsustainable Cold War peak. On that reading, taxpayers were receiving a broad force for an expenditure that sat between the European and full NATO averages.
Notable Point · 19:23-20:29
How Britain's 1997 defence burden compared with NATO
Per-capita comparisons place Britain below several major allies and the full NATO average but above the European average while it still sustained a broad fleet.