Egypt Military 2022, CIA World Factbook

Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF): Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Coast Guard), Air Force, Air Defense Command, Border Guard Forces; Interior Ministry: Public Security Sector Police, the Central Security Force, National Security Sector (2022)

note 1: the Public Security Sector Police are responsible for law enforcement nationwide; the Central Security Force protects infrastructure and is responsible for crowd control; the National Security Sector is responsible for internal security threats and counterterrorism along with other security services

note 2: in addition to its external defense duties, the EAF also has a mandate to assist police in protecting vital infrastructure during a state of emergency; military personnel were granted full arrest authority in 2011 but normally only use this authority during states of emergency and “periods of significant turmoil”

Military expenditures

1.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.3% of GDP (2020)

1.3% of GDP (2019) (approximately $15.8 billion)

1.4% of GDP (2018) (approximately $15.9 billion)

1.6% of GDP (2017) (approximately $16.7 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 450,000 active duty personnel (325,000 Army; 18,000 Navy; 30,000 Air Force; 75,000 Air Defense Command); approximately 300,000 Central Security Forces personnel (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the EAF's inventory is comprised of a mix of domestically produced, imported Soviet-era, and more modern, particularly Western, weapons systems; in recent years, the EAF has embarked on an extensive equipment modernization program with major purchases from a variety of suppliers; since 2010, the leading suppliers of military hardware to Egypt have been France, Russia, and the US; Egypt has an established defense industry that produces a range of products from small arms to armored vehicles and naval vessels; it also has licensed and co-production agreements with several countries, including the US (2022)

Military service age and obligation

voluntary enlistment possible from age 16 for men and women; 18-30 years of age for conscript service for men; service obligation 14-36 months, followed by a 9-year reserve obligation; active service length depends on education; high school drop-outs serve for the full 36 months, while college graduates serve for lesser periods of time, depending on their education (2022)

note: as of 2020, conscripts were estimated to comprise over half of the military, as well as a considerable portion of the Central Security Force

Military deployments

1,000 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,075 Mali (MINUSMA) (May 2022)

Military - note

since 2011, the Egyptian Armed Forces, police, and other security forces have been actively engaged in counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the North Sinai governorate against several militant groups, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham – Sinai Province; as of 2022, Egypt had tens of thousands of military troops, police, and other security personnel deployed in the Sinai for internal security duties; in addition, tribal militias were assisting Egyptian security forces

the military has a large stake in the civilian economy, including running banks, businesses, gas stations, shipping lines, and utilities, and producing consumer and industrial goods, importing commodities, and building and managing infrastructure projects, such as bridges, roads, hospitals, and housing; the various enterprises are reportedly profitable enough to make the armed forces largely self-funded

Egypt has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US; MNNA is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; while MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments

the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) has operated in the Sinai since 1982 as a peacekeeping and monitoring force to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace; the MFO is an independent international organization, created by agreement between Egypt and Israel; as of 2022, it was composed of about 1,150 troops from 13 countries; Colombia, Fiji, and the US were the leading providers of troops to the MFO (2022)

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