Angola Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Angolan Armed Forces (Forcas Armadas Angolanas, FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra Angola, MGA), Angolan National Air Force (Forca Aerea Nacional Angolana, FANA; under operational control of the Army); Rapid Reaction Police (paramilitary) (2022)

Military expenditures

1.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.8% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $2.7 billion)

2.1% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $3.02 billion)

2.6% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $3.65 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 101,000 active troops (95,000 Army; 1,000 Navy; 5,000 Air Force); estimated 10,000 Rapid Reaction Police (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

most Angolan military weapons and equipment are of Russian, Soviet, or Warsaw Pact origin; since 2010, Russia has been the principal supplier of military hardware to Angola (2021)

Military service age and obligation

20-45 years of age for compulsory and 18-45 years for voluntary military service for men (registration at age 18 is mandatory); 20-45 years of age for voluntary service for women; 2-year conscript service obligation; Angolan citizenship required; the Navy is entirely staffed with volunteers (2021)

Military - note

the Angolan Armed Forces were created in 1991 under the Bicesse Accords signed between the Angolan Government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) 

the Angolan Armed Forces are responsible for external security but also have domestic security responsibilities, including border security, expulsion of irregular migrants, and small-scale actions against groups like the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda separatists in Cabinda (2022)

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Angola are a risk for armed robbery against ships; in 2021, four attacks against commercial vessels were reported, a decrease from the six attacks in 2020; most of these occurred in the main port of Luanda while ships were berthed or at anchor

NOTE: The information regarding Angola on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Angola 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Angola 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.