Qatar Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Qatar Armed Forces: Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF, includes Emiri Guard), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN, includes Coast Guard), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF); Internal Security Forces: Mobile Gendarmerie (2022)

Military expenditures

4% of GDP (2021 est.)

4% of GDP (2020 est.)

3.4% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $8.44 billion)

3.3% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $8.23 billion)

3.4% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $8.22 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 15,000 active duty personnel (10,000 Land Force, including Emiri Guard; 3,000 Navy; 2,000 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Qatari military's inventory includes a broad mix of older and modern weapons systems, mostly from the US and Europe; in the 2010s, Qatar embarked on an extensive military expansion and modernization program with large air, ground, and naval equipment purchases; since 2010, France and the US have been the top suppliers (2022)

Military service age and obligation

conscription for men aged 18-35 introduced in 2013; compulsory service times range from 4-12 months, depending on educational and professional circumstances; since 2018, women have been permitted to serve as volunteers in the armed forces, including as uniformed officers and pilots (2022)

note 1: as of 2020, the military incorporated about 2,000 conscripts annually

note 2: Qatar recruits foreign contract soldiers to overcome manpower limitations; as of 2020, it was estimated that as much as 85% of the military was comprised of foreigners

Military - note

Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for the US Central Command (CENTCOM; established 1983) and more than 8,000 US military forces at various military facilities, including the large Al Udeid Air Base; Qatar also hosts as many as 5,000 Turkish military forces at two bases established in 2014 and 2019

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