Seriously though -- you're not wrong as it goes, which is why the UK a decade or more ago invested heavily in Cyber -- consider this:
As of the 2023/24 financial year, the United Kingdom's economic and defense expenditure statistics are as follows:
| Metric | Amount (in £ billion) | Percentage of GDP |
|---|
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | 2,540 | 100% |
| Total Government Expenditure | 1,108 | 43.6% |
| Defense Spending | 53.9 | 2.3% |
In this context, defense spending constitutes approximately 4.9% of the UK's total government expenditure. None of these figures are 100% (it's actually a higher spend iirc and a slightly higher GDP).
Sources:
These figures highlight the UK's commitment to defense within its overall budget, allocating a significant portion of its resources to maintain and enhance its military capabilities.
2% equates to twice that (roughly, it's actually slightly more) because government expenditure is the key figure not GDP.
The US spend 13% of all its expenditure (and likely more due to many hidden costs -- much more) on its military. France is at about 5%. It's a list of war-torn nations in that top twenty with the US spending about as much as Israel (about 13%). There is are two democracies in that list and the US is one whilst France is the other.
The sheer amount of money which goes in that direction is often played down by people who cite GDP figures but ignore total government expenditure which paints a far more realistic picture.
Here's the other list (percentage of fiscal governmental expenditure which goes to international aid). Nearly all democracies present. The UK is doing what it has done for years and just going the direction its master swings. I'd rather keep company with the list below than the other one (percentage of expenditure which goes to military spending) where the US is also listed (and ridiculously high).
As of 2022, the top countries allocating the highest percentages of their government expenditures to official development assistance (ODA) are:
| Country | ODA as Percentage of Government Expenditure |
|---|
| Luxembourg | 1.05% |
| Norway | 1.02% |
| Sweden | 0.99% |
| Denmark | 0.71% |
| Germany | 0.80% |
| United Kingdom | 0.51% |
| Netherlands | 0.59% |
| France | 0.70% |
| Switzerland | 0.55% |
| Finland | 0.47% |
| Belgium | 0.45% |
| Ireland | 0.31% |
| Canada | 0.27% |
| Australia | 0.27% |
| Japan | 0.30% |
| New Zealand | 0.28% |
| Italy | 0.22% |
| Spain | 0.21% |
| United States | 0.22% |
| Portugal | 0.16% |
