Austria Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Austrian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces (2022)

Military expenditures

0.9% of GDP (2021 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2020)

0.7% of GDP (2019) (approximately $3.78 billion)

0.7% of GDP (2018) (approximately $3.82 billion)

0.8% of GDP (2017) (approximately $3.71 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 25,000 active duty personnel (20,000 Army; 5,000 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Austrian military's inventory includes a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons systems from European countries and the US; the Austrian defense industry produces a range of equipment and partners with other countries (2021)

Military service age and obligation

registration requirement at age 17, the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; men above the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service; women may volunteer; compulsory service is for 6 months, or optionally, alternative civil/community service (Zivildienst) for 9 months (2022)

note 1: as of 2019, women made up about 4% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: in a January 2013 referendum, a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system; approximately 40% of those liable to compulsory service have opted in favor of  alternative civil/community service

Military deployments

170 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force); 300 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 200 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (Aug 2022)

Military - note

Austria is constitutionally non-aligned but is an EU member and actively participates in EU peacekeeping and crisis management operations under the Common Security and Defense Policy; Austria is not a member of NATO but joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace framework in 1995 and participates in NATO-led crisis management and peacekeeping operations; as of 2022, more than 100,000 Austrian military and civilian personnel had taken part in more than 50 international peace support and humanitarian missions since 1960 (2022)

NOTE: The information regarding Austria 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 Austria 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Austria 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.