That means that fewer than one in five Swedish young men will be called in for military service next year.

"In 2004 we drafted 15,000 young men. Now we are expecting that number to drop to less than 10,000 for 2005, and that's due to budget cutbacks," Christer Nilsson of the National Service Administration told AFP.

"Ten years ago we had 35,000 conscripts, a level that had been relatively stable for a number of years," he said.

Sweden's defense budget is expected to be slashed by up to six billion kronor (795 million dollars, 651 million euros) and 5,000 jobs axed when the government presents its 2005 budget to parliament this autumn.

WAR.WIRE