US Marines fire a practice rocket from M142 high mobility artillery rocket system during Exercise Rolling Thunder — US Marines fire a practice rocket during an exercise (Picture: US Marines Corps photo by Lance Cpl Megan Ozaki).

NATO

NATO: What nations put most of their spending towards equipment?

The United Kingdom ranks 12th out of all NATO members when it comes to the proportion of defence spending that goes towards equipment.

Latest NATO data estimates suggest that 24.6% of the UK's military spending in 2021 went towards kit, putting the country behind the likes of Greece, Luxembourg, France and the United States in the list.

Twenty-one NATO members met the alliance's guideline spend of 20% of defence outlay on equipment.

Greece tops the chart, spending 38.8% of its defence expenditure on kit.

NATO graph showing equipment spend as share of defence spend — NATO's latest estimates for equipment spending, as a share of defence outlay. The 2021 figures are estimates. (Picture: NATO).

The NATO alliance is made up of 30 countries, which increased by one after the Republic of North Macedonia joined in 2020.

Iceland, which does not have any armed forces, is a member of NATO but does not feature in the alliance's defence spending charts.

Formed in the aftermath of the Second World War, NATO's original goals were to secure peace in Europe, promote co-operation among its members and counter the threat posed by the USSR, also known as the Soviet Union.