Defence figures

Normally, Statistics Netherlands’ figures from the COFOG (Classification of Functions of Government) are used for publications on defence expenditure. COFOG is an international standard classification of various government expenditure by function, such as national defense (COFOG Function 02), and is consistent with the National Accounts. However, the figures based on the COFOG classification for reporting year 2024 will not be available until later this year (late October/November 2025). Therefore, this news release is based on the latest estimate from NATO dating from June 2024 and relating to the 2024 reporting year.

The source used by NATO is the expenditure reported by the defence ministries of each member state. These ministries use a somewhat more comprehensive definition of defence expenditure than that of the COFOG. For example, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence sees expenditure on the military police and the police mission in Afghanistan as defence expenditure, while these are part of a different budget item under the COFOG classification.

Another important difference is when defence expenditure figures are recorded. For the Netherlands, NATO figures are registered on a cash basis and COFOG figures are registered on an accrual basis. As a result, advance payments for defence equipment are visible in NATO figures immediately (cash basis), while the time of delivery of the defence equipment determines when this expenditure is registered under the COFOG classification (accrual basis). This means that in periods of higher investment by the Ministry of Defence, the differences between NATO and COFOG figures can become larger.

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