asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the most recent estimate of defence spending in the United Kingdom (a) per head of the population and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product, as compared with similar estimates for France, Sweden and Switzerland.

The latest estimates for the United Kingdom and France for 1981, based on NATO spending definitions, are as follows:

	Per capita defence spending $US	Defence spending as a percentage of GDP
United Kingdom	439	4·9
France	442	4·2

Comparable estimates are not available for Sweden or Switzerland. For information concerning these countries I refer the hon. Member to the International Institute of Strategic Studies publication "The Military Balance 1981–82".