ABSTRACT
This chapter expands on the commentary in the ‘Layout and Principles of Compilation’ on the methods used by the IISS to estimate and interpret defence economic information for The Military Balance. In the case of the many developed and developing countries which comply with the UN System of National Accounts and report national economic performance on a timely and comprehensive basis, the collation of economic data for The Military Balance presents no real problems. The reporting of many late-developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Asia is often not only incomplete and of uncertain reliability, but may also lag several years. Whilst current external debt and consumer price inflation data are generally available, consistent real GDP, GDP growth figures and reliable GDP deflators are more elusive.
