ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how The Military Balance is structured and outlines the general principles followed. The Military Balance is updated each year to provide a timely, quantitative assessment of the military forces and defence expenditures of over 160 countries. The break-up of the Soviet Union necessitated a re-evaluation of the way in which The Military Balance divides the world into geographical sections. Many countries maintain paramilitary forces whose training, organisation, equipment and control suggest they may be usable in support, or in lieu, of regular military forces. Numbers are shown by function and type and represent total holdings, including active and reserve operational and training units and ‘in store’ stocks. Inventory totals for missile systems relate to launchers and not to missiles. The Military Balance does not normally list short-term operational deployments, particularly where military operations are in progress.
