Namibia Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Namibian Defense Force (NDF): Army, Navy, Air Force; Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security: Namibian Police Force (includes a paramilitary Special Field Force responsible for protecting borders and government installations) (2022)

Military expenditures

3% of GDP (2021 est.)

3.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

3.3% of GDP (2019) (approximately $620 million)

3.4% of GDP (2018) (approximately $640 million)

3.6% of GDP (2017) (approximately $670 million)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 12,500 personnel (11,000 Army; 1,000 Navy; 500 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the NDF's inventory consists of a mix of Soviet-era and some more modern systems from a variety of countries, including Brazil, China, Germany, India, and South Africa; it has a small defense industry that produces items such as armored personnel carriers (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-25 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service; no conscription (2022)

note: as of 2018, women comprised more than 20% of the active duty military

Military - note

the Namibian Defense Force (NDF) was created in 1990, largely from demobilized former members of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and the South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF); PLAN was the armed wing of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), while SWATF was an auxiliary of the South African Defense Force and comprised the armed forces of the former South West Africa, 1977-1989; from 1990-1995, the British military assisted with the forming and training the NDF (2022)

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