Strategic Assessment

This article presents the figures for defense spending in Israel and clarifies what the economic burden of defense is on Israel’s economy. The defense burden in terms of the ratio of domestic defense consumption to GDP shows that while Israel is still high in the international ratings, the gap is much narrower than it used to be. In contrast to the situation in the 1970s and 1980s, the defense budget at its current level does not jeopardize economic stability. It therefore appears that the effect of defense spending on the current macroeconomic situation in Israel is limited.