Israel Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Forces, Israel Naval Force (IN, includes commandos), Israel Air Force (IAF, includes air defense); Ministry of Public Security: Border Police (2021)

note: the Border Police is a unit within the Israel Police with its own organizational and command structure; it works both independently as well as in cooperation with or in support of the Israel Police and Israel Defense Force

Military expenditures

5% of GDP (2019)

5% of GDP (2018)

5.5% of GDP (2017)

5.5% of GDP (2016)

5.5% of GDP (2015)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have approximately 173,000 active personnel (130,000 Ground Forces; 9,000 Naval; 34,000 Air Force) (2021)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the majority of the IDF's inventory is comprised of weapons that are domestically-produced or imported from Europe and the US; since 2010, the US is by far the leading supplier of arms to Israel, followed by Germany; Israel has a broad defense industrial base that can develop, produce, support, and sustain a wide variety of weapons systems for both domestic use and export, particularly armored vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, air defense, and guided missiles (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druze) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 32 months for enlisted men and about 24 months for enlisted women (varies based on military occupation), 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9-year service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), age 24 (women) (2020)

Military - note

the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; as of December 2020, UNDOF consisted of about 1,100 military personnel

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