Why British naval and army budgets are hard to compare

How did Royal Navy spending compare with the British Army budget during the pre-1914 naval race?

The Navy's central budget was often larger, but the comparison is distorted because major imperial land forces were funded outside the British Army total.

The headline British Army budget did not include the cost of every imperial land force. The British Indian Army and other imperial formations sat outside that central figure even though they contributed to the wider military system. Royal Navy expenditure was much more centrally concentrated. Direct percentage comparisons can therefore exaggerate the difference between British sea and land spending.