Portugal Military - 2022


SOURCE: 2022 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Military and security forces

Portuguese Armed Forces: Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP); National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) (2022)

note: the GNR is a national gendarmerie force comprised of military personnel with law enforcement, internal security, civil defense, disaster response, and coast guard duties; it is responsible to the Ministry of Internal Administration and to the Ministry of National Defense; in the event of war or crisis, it may be placed under the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces; the GNR has law enforcement jurisdiction in rural areas, while the Public Security Police (also under the Ministry of Internal Administration) has jurisdiction in cities

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.6% of GDP (2021)

1.4% of GDP (2020)

1.4% of GDP (2019) (approximately $4.31 billion)

1.3% of GDP (2018) (approximately $4.06 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 27,000 active duty personnel (14,000 Army; 7,000 Navy, including about 1,000 marines; 6,000 Air Force); 24,500 National Republican Guard (military personnel) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory includes mostly European- and US-origin weapons systems along with a smaller mix of domestically-produced equipment; since 2010, Germany and the US have been the leading suppliers of armaments to Portugal; Portugal's defense industry is primarily focused on shipbuilding (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-30 years of age for voluntary or contract military service; no compulsory military service (abolished 2004) but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available; women serve in the armed forces but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; contract service lasts for an initial period from two to six years, and can be extended to a maximum of 20 years of service; initial voluntary military service lasts 12 months; reserve obligation to age 35 (2022)

note: as of 2019, women made up about 12% of the military's full-time personnel

Military deployments

200 Central African Republic (MINUSCA/EUTM); up to 150 Lithuania (NATO); approximately 170 Romania (2022)

note 1: in 2021, Portugal deployed about 80 troops to Mozambique to assist with the EU training mission
note 2: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Portugal, have sent additional troops to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe
note 3: Portugal also participates in several NATO maritime and air policing operations, as well as some EU international missions

Military - note

Portugal is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

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

This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.