South Africa Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

South African National Defence Force (SANDF): South African Army (includes Reserve Force), South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services (2021)

Military expenditures

0.9% of GDP (2021 est.)

1% of GDP (2020 est.)

1% of GDP (2019)

1% of GDP (2018)

1% of GDP (2017)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is comprised of approximately 75,000 personnel (40,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 10,000 Air Force; 8,000 Military Health Service; 10,000 other, including administrative, logistics, military police) (2020)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the SANDF's inventory consists of a mix of domestically-produced and foreign-supplied equipment; South Africa's domestic defense industry produced most of the Army's major weapons systems (some were jointly-produced with foreign companies), while the Air Force and Navy inventories include a mix of European, Israeli, and US-origin weapons systems; since 2010, Sweden is the largest supplier of weapons to the SANDF (2020)

Military deployments

1,050 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (Jan 2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2021)

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