Lebanon Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army Command (includes Presidential Guard Brigade, Land Border Regiments), Naval Forces, Air Forces; Ministry of Interior: Internal Security Forces Directorate (law enforcement; includes Mobile Gendarmerie), Directorate for General Security (DGS; border control, some domestic security duties) (2022)

note: the commander of the LAF is also the commander of the Army; the LAF patrols external borders, while official border checkpoints are under the authority of Directorate for General Security

Military expenditures

3.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

3% of GDP (2020 est.)

4.7% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $3.6 billion)

5.1% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $4.1 billion)

4.6% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $3.95 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 80,000 active troops (77,000 Army; 1,500 Navy; 1,500 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the LAF inventory includes a wide mix of mostly older equipment from a diverse array of countries; since 2010, the US has been the leading supplier of armaments (mostly second-hand equipment) to Lebanon (2022)

Military service age and obligation

17-25 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service; no conscription (2022)

note: as of 2020, women comprised about 5% of the active duty military

Military - note

as of 2022, the Lebanese military faced multiple challenges, including securing parts of the border with war-torn Syria from infiltrations of militants linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) and al-Qa’ida terrorist groups and maintaining stability along its volatile border with Israel, where the Iranian-backed and Lebanon-based terrorist group Hizballah conducted a war with Israel in 2006 and tensions remained high, including occasional armed skirmishes; the military also faced a financial crisis as government debt and national economic difficulties undercut its ability to fully pay and supply personnel, which has sparked domestic and international fears that the armed forces may disintegrate

the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) has operated in the country since 1978, originally under UNSCRs 425 and 426 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area; following the July-August 2006 war, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1701 enhancing UNIFIL and deciding that in addition to the original mandate, it would, among other things, monitor the cessation of hostilities, support the Lebanese Armed Forces as they deployed throughout the south of Lebanon, and provide assistance for humanitarian access for civilians and the return of displaced persons; UNIFIL had approximately 9,500 personnel deployed in the country as of mid-2022 (2022)

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