asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of gross domestic product was spent on defence in each financial year from 1997-98 to 2007-08. [HL5459]
The percentage of UK gross domestic product spent on defence is set out in table 4.4 of HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2008 (HC 489) as follows:
Year Percentage of GDP (outturn) 1997-98 2.6 1998-99 2.8 1999-00 2.7 2000-01 2.6 2001-02 2.5 2002-03 2.5 2003-04 2.5 2004-05 2.5 2005-06 2.5 2006-07 2.4 2007-08 (estimated) 2.4