The members of the British military have long been known as some of the best Soldiers, Seaman, Airman and Marines in the world but comparing to other militaries do we need to invest more not just on increasing size but better conditions.
| 10 largest military budgets, in US dollars | Military Size |
| 1. United States - 801 billion | 1. China - 2,000,000 |
| 2. China - 293 billion | 2. India - 1,450,000 |
| 3. India - 76.6 billion | 3. United States - 1,390,000 |
| 4. United Kingdom - 68.4 billion | 4. North Korea - 1,200,000 |
| 5. Russia - 65.9 billion | 5. Russia - 850,000 |
| 6. France - 56.6 billion | 6. Pakistan - 640,000 |
| 7. Germany - 56 billion | 7. Iran - 575,000 |
| 8. Saudi Arabia - 55.6 billion | 8. South Korea - 555,000 |
| 9. Japan - 54.1 billion | 9. Vietnam - 470,000 |
| 10. South Korea - 50.2 billion | 10. Egypt - 450,000 |
| 25. United Kingdom - 194,000 |
The chart above shows that although the UK's defence budget is the 4th highest in the world when it comes to boots on the ground it ranks only at number 25 in the world. This is below countries like Morocco. (Information from USA Today, UK Government currently shows defence spending at over 71 Billion pounds)
Although with a rising defence budget and nearly double the amount being spent on research and development than previously the British Military have reduced spending on Service and civilian personal by 3%.
The Army states that with operations and excercises it has troops in Cyprus, Kenya, Canada, Belize, Gibraltar, South Atlantic Islands, Germany, Baltics, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Brunei and Mali.
Currently the British Military is about to undertake a massive training role and the members are highly motivated and highly trained and regarded man for man as the best in the world. Is the answer to invest in technology or boots on the ground.
Is the British military capable of taking on any more commitments or major deployment, are they more effective with technology or manpower?
Is the British military big enough for what the future holds?
Ultimately, whether the British military is "big enough" depends on the specific criteria being used to assess its size and effectiveness. Some may argue that it needs to be larger to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex global security environment, while others may argue that the current size is appropriate given the country's strategic priorities and available resources.
