The Military Balance 2009 contains region-by-region analysis of the major military and economic developments affecting defence and security policies and the trade in weapons and other military equipment. Comprehensive tables detail major military training activities, UN and non-UN deployments, and give data on key equipment holdings and defence economics, as well as defence-expenditure trends over a ten-year period.

The Military Balance 2009 also contains essays on defence industries in the Asia-Pacific region and UN peacekeeping. There is a further short essay noting trends in non-state activity, which complements the table of selected non-state groups.

The Military Balance 2009 also includes an updated Chart of Conflict, a wallchart showing current conflicts around the world, with selected supporting tables.

This year’s Military Balance examines key military issues including conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq; the debate within NATO over burden-sharing in Afghanistan; an update on EU military operations; the conflict between Russia and Georgia; continuing conflicts in Africa; and the increased attention given by the international community to piracy off the Horn of Africa. The book also examines defence developments in East Asia and Australasia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the US and Canada.