Gabon Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Gabonese Armed Forces (Force Armées Gabonaise or FAG; aka Gabonese Defense and Security Forces): Land Forces (Army), National Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie (includes Coast Guard), Corps of Firemen; Republican Guard (2022)

note: the National Police Forces, under the Ministry of Interior, and the National Gendarmerie, under the Ministry of Defense, are responsible for law enforcement and public security; elements of the armed forces and the Republican Guard, an elite unit that protects the president under his direct authority, sometimes performed internal security functions

Military expenditures

1.7% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.6% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $450 million)

1.6% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $440 million)

1.8% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $480 million)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 6,500 active duty troops including the Republican Guard and Gendarmerie (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Gabonese military is lightly armed with a mixed inventory from a variety of suppliers; since 2010, providers have included Brazil, China, France, Germany, and South Africa (2021)

Military service age and obligation

20 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2021)

Military - note

members of the Gabonese Defense Forces attempted a failed coup in January 2019

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea remain a very high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships; in 2021, there were 34 reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea region; although a significant decrease from the total number of 81 incidents in 2020, it included the one hijacking and three of five ships fired upon worldwide; while boarding and attempted boarding to steal valuables from ships and crews are the most common types of incidents, almost a third of all incidents involve a hijacking and/or kidnapping; in 2021, 57 crew members were kidnapped in seven separate incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, representing 100% of kidnappings worldwide; Nigerian pirates in particular are well armed and very aggressive, operating as far as 200 nm offshore; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2022-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 4 January 2022, which states in part, "Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea"

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