Malawi Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Malawi Defense Force (MDF): Army (includes marine unit), Air Force (established as a separate service August 2019; previously was an air wing under the Army) (2021)

Military expenditures

0.9% of GDP (2019)

0.9% of GDP (2018)

0.7% of GDP (2017)

0.6% of GDP (2016)

0.6% of GDP (2015)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 8,000 total personnel (including about 200 air and 200 marine forces) (2021)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Malawi Defense Force inventory is comprised of mostly obsolescent or second-hand equipment from Europe and South Africa; since 2010, it has taken deliveries of limited amounts of mostly second-hand equipment from China, South Africa, and the UK, as well as non-lethal equipment donated by the US (2020)

Military deployments

700 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (Jan 2021)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; high school equivalent required for enlisted recruits and college equivalent for officer recruits; initial engagement is 7 years for enlisted personnel and 10 years for officers (2021)

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