Belgium Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Belgian Armed Forces: Land Component, Naval Component, Air Component, Medical Service (2021)

Military expenditures

1.07% of GDP (2020 est.)

0.89% of GDP (2019)

0.89% of GDP (2018)

0.88% of GDP (2017)

0.89% of GDP (2016)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the Belgian Armed Forces have approximately 26,000 active duty personnel (11,000 Land Component; 1,500 Navy; 5,000 Air Force; 1,500 Medical Service; 7,000 other, including joint staff, support, and training schools) (2020)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Belgian Armed Forces have a mix of weapons systems from European countries, Israel, and the US; since 2010, France, Germany, and Switzerland are the leading suppliers of armaments; Belgium has an export-focused defense industry that focuses on components and subcontracting (2020)

Military deployments

125 France (contributing member of EuroCorps); 100 Mali (EUTM/MINUSMA); est. 260 Baltic States (NATO) (2020)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 1995 (2019)

Military - note

Belgium is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

in 2018, the Defense Ministers of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC); the C-SOCC was declared operational in December 2020

NOTE: The information regarding Belgium on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Belgium 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Belgium 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.