Rwanda Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Rwanda Defense Force (RDF): Rwanda Army (Rwanda Land Force), Rwanda Air Force (Force Aerienne Rwandaise, FAR), Rwanda Reserve Force (2021)

Military expenditures

1.2% of GDP (2019)

1.2% of GDP (2018)

1.2% of GDP (2017)

1.2% of GDP (2016)

1.2% of GDP (2015)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) has approximately 31,000 active personnel (30,000 Army; 1,000 Air Force) (2020)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the RDF's inventory includes mostly Soviet-era and older Western - mostly French and South African - equipment; Rwanda has received a limited supply of imports since 2010 from a variety of countries, including Israel, Russia, and Turkey (2020)

Military deployments

1,370 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,125 Sudan (UNAMID); 2,750 South Sudan (UNMISS) (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; Rwandan citizenship is required; enlistment is either as contract (5-years, renewable twice) or career (2019)

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