Colombia Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Military Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Militares de Colombia): National Army (Ejercito Nacional), Republic of Colombia Navy (Armada Republica de Colombia, ARC; includes Coast Guard), Colombian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia, FAC); Colombian National Police (civilian force that is part of the Ministry of Defense) (2021)

Military expenditures

3.2% of GDP (2019)

3.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

3.2% of GDP (2017)

3.1% of GDP (2016)

3.1% of GDP (2015)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the Military Forces of Colombia (FMC) have approximately 295,000 total active troops (235,000 Army; 45,000 Navy, including about 22,000 marines; 14,000 Air Force); approximately 185,000 Colombian National Police (2021)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Colombian military inventory includes a wide mix of equipment from a variety of suppliers, including Brazil, Canada, Europe, Israel, South Korea, and the US; Germany, Israel, and the US are the leading suppliers of military hardware since 2010; Colombia's defense industry is active in producing air, land, and naval platforms (2019 est.)

Military deployments

275 Egypt (MFO) (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-24 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months (2019)

Military - note

the Colombian Armed Forces are primarily focused on internal security, particularly counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism, and counterinsurgency operations against drug traffickers, militants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) terrorist/guerrilla organizations, and other illegal armed groups; the Colombian Government signed a peace agreement with the FARC in 2016, but some former members (known as dissidents) have returned to fighting; the Colombian military resumed operations against FARC dissidents and their successor paramilitary groups in late 2019; in 2017, the Colombian Government initiated formal peace talks with the ELN, but in January 2019, the government ended the peace talks shortly after the ELN exploded a car bomb at the National Police Academy in Bogotá and resumed counter-terrorism/counterinsurgency operations against the group; operations against both the FARC and ELN continued into 2021; the military is also focused on the security challenges posed by its neighbor, Venezuela

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