The Military Balance is an indispensable handbook for anyone conducting serious studies of security policy and military affairs. Published annually, it is the only reliable, publicly available inventory of the world's armed forces, rebel groups, and organized non-state armed groups. Region-by-region analyses cover the major military and economic developments affecting security policy and the trade in weapons and equipment. Country-by-country defence statistics include numbers of armed forces personnel and weapons systems, as well as information on defence budgets and expenditure. A comprehensive tabular section portrays key data on weapons and defence economics. The Military Balance is organized into two parts. Part 1 comprises the regional trends and military capabilities of countries grouped by region. Country-by-country entries give a quantitative assessment of the personnel strengths and equipment holdings of the world's armed forces. Regional groupings are preceded by a short introduction describing the military issues facing the region. There are tables depicting nuclear delivery and warhead holdings, in addition to high readiness capabilities and military satellites.
There is also a table of selected non-state armed groups. An analytical essay explores the issues of emerging military counter-terrorist responses. Part 2 contains macroeconomic and defence economic data for countries grouped by region. The data include defence expenditure, selected economic performance indicators and demographic aggregates. Separate entries provide data on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and the international arms trade. Tables include the comparison of defence expenditure and military manpower for 1985, 2000 and 2001. The Military Balance also includes a wallchart of armed conflicts, with fatalities and cost estimates depicted on a map of the world together with information on currrent and past UN and non-UN peacekeeping operations.