Kuwait Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Kuwaiti Armed Forces (KAF): Kuwaiti Land Forces (KLF), Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya; includes Kuwaiti Air Defense Force, KADF), 25th Commando Brigade, and the Kuwait Emiri Guard Brigade; Kuwaiti National Guard (KNG); Coast Guard (Ministry of Interior) (2022)

note 1: the Kuwait Amiri Guard Authority and the 25th Commando Brigade exercise independent command authority within the Kuwaiti Armed Forces, although activities such as training and equipment procurement are often coordinated with the other services

note 2: the Kuwaiti National Guard reports directly to the prime minister and the amir and possesses an independent command structure, equipment inventory, and logistics corps separate from the Ministry of Defense, the regular armed services, and the Ministry of Interior; it is responsible for protecting critical infrastructure and providing support for the Ministries of Interior and Defense as required

Military expenditures

6.8% of GDP (2021 est.)

6.3% of GDP (2020 est.)

5.6% of GDP (2019) (approximately $10.2 billion)

5.1% of GDP (2018) (approximately $9.25 billion)

5.6% of GDP (2017) (approximately $10 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 17,000 active duty armed forces personnel (12,500 Army, including the Amiri Guard and 25th Commando Brigade; 2,000 Navy; 2,500 Air Force); approximately 6,500 National Guard (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory consists of weapons from a wide variety of sources, including Western Europe, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the US; the US has been the leading supplier of arms to Kuwait since 2010 (2022)

Military service age and obligation

18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; Kuwait reintroduced 12-month mandatory service for men aged 18-35 in May 2017 after having suspended conscription in 2001; mandatory service is divided in two phases – 4 months for training and 8 months for military service; women were allowed to volunteer in 2021 (2022)

note: the National Guard is restricted to citizens, but in 2018, the Army began allowing non-Kuwaitis to join on contract or as non-commissioned officers; that same year, it also began allowing stateless people (Bidoon) to join

Military - note

as of 2022, the US had approximately 13,000 military personnel based in Kuwait as part of a 1991 Defense Cooperation Agreement and a 2013 Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement

Kuwait 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 (2022)

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