Central African Republic Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Central African Armed Forces (Forces Armees Centrafricaines, FACA): Army (includes an air squadron, Escadrille Centrafricaine), General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG); National Police (2020)

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2019 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2018 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2017 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

1.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 10,000 active troops, including an air component of 100-200 and up to 2,000 Gendarmerie (2020)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the FACA is lightly and poorly armed with mostly outdated weapons; since 2010, it has received small amounts of second-hand equipment from China, Russia, and Ukraine (2020)

note: since 2013, CAR has been under a UNSC arms embargo; the embargo bans all supplies of arms and related materiel to the country except to the CAR security forces if approved in advance by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for military service; no conscription (2019)

Military - note

the FACA is currently assessed as unable to provide adequate internal security for the country; the military was dissolved following the 2013 rebel seizure of the government and has struggled to rebuild in the years of instability since; France, Russia, the UN, and the European Union are providing various levels of security assistance

the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has operated in the country since 2014; its peacekeeping mission includes providing security, protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian assistance, disarming and demobilizing armed groups, and supporting the country’s fragile transitional government; in November 2019, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the MINUSCA peacekeeping mission another year; as of January 2021, MINUSCA had nearly 15,000 total personnel, including about 11,000 troops and 2,000 police

the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) has operated in the country since 2016; the EUTM-RCA contributes to the restructuring of the country's military and defense sector through advice, training, and educational programs

NOTE: The information regarding Central African Republic 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 Central African Republic 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Central African Republic 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.