Greece Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Hellenic Armed Forces: Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES; includes National Guard reserves), Hellenic Navy (Elliniko Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA; includes air defense); Ministry of Shipping Affairs and Island Policy: Coast Guard (2022)

note: the police (under the Ministry of Citizen Protection) and the armed forces (Ministry of National Defense) share law enforcement duties in certain border areas; border protection is coordinated by a deputy minister for national defense

Military expenditures

3.8% of GDP (2022 est.)

3.6% of GDP (2021)

2.9% of GDP (2020)

2.3% of GDP (2019) (approximately $7.95 billion)

2.5% of GDP (2018) (approximately $8.31 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 125,000 active duty personnel (90,000 Army; 15,000 Navy; 20,000 Air Force); approximately 35,000 National Guard (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the inventory of the Hellenic Armed Forces consists of a mix of imported weapons from Europe and the US, as well as a limited number of domestically produced systems, particularly naval vessels; Germany has been the leading supplier of weapons systems to Greece since 2010; Greece's defense industry is capable of producing a range of military hardware, including naval vessels and associated subsystems (2021)

note: in addition to finalizing an update to the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement with the US, Greece also entered into a security agreement with France in 2021 that included the sale of frigates and fighter aircraft to augment its aging weapons systems

Military service age and obligation

19-45 years of age for compulsory military service for men; 12-month obligation for all services (note - as an exception, the duration of the full military service is 9 instead of 12 months if conscripts, after the initial training, serve the entire remaining time in certain areas of the eastern borders, in Cyprus, or in certain military units); 18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (2022)

note 1: compulsory service applies to any individual whom the Greek authorities consider to be Greek, regardless of whether the individual considers himself Greek, has a foreign citizenship and passport, or was born or lives outside of Greece; Greek citizens living permanently outside of Greece have the right to postpone their conscription; they are permanently exempted from their military obligations when they reach the age of 45 years old

note 2: up to 50% of the Greek military is comprised of conscripts

note 3: as of 2019, women comprised approximately 19% of the military's full-time personnel

Military deployments

approximately 1,000 Cyprus; 100 Kosovo (NATO); 100 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2022)

Military - note

Greece joined NATO in 1952

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