Eritrea Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF): Eritrean Ground Forces, Eritrean Navy, Eritrean Air Force (includes Air Defense Force); Hizbawi Serawit (aka People's Army or People's Militia) (2022)

Military expenditures

10% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $640 million)

10.2% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $630 million)

10.3% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $630 million)

10.4% of GDP (2016 est.) (approximately $640 million)

10.6% of GDP (2015 est.) (approximately $600 million)

Military and security service personnel strengths

limited available information; estimated 150,000-200,000 personnel, including about 2,000 in the naval and air forces (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the EDF inventory is comprised primarily of older Russian and Soviet-era systems; Eritrea was under a UN arms embargo from 2009 to 2018; from the 1990s to 2008, Russia was the leading supplier of arms to Eritrea; in 2019, Eritrea expressed interest in purchasing Russian arms, including missile boats, helicopters, and small arms (2021)

Military service age and obligation

Eritrea mandates military service for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 (18-27 for women if conscripted); 18-month conscript service obligation, which includes 4-6 months of military training and 12 months of military or other national service (military service is most common); in practice, military service is often extended indefinitely; citizens up to the age of 55 eligible for recall during mobilization (2022)

note: as of 2020, women were estimated to make up as much as 30% of the Eritrean military

Military - note

since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray War (2020-2022) (2022)

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