Singapore Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Singapore Armed Forces (SAF; aka Singapore Defense Force): Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Navy, Republic of Singapore Air Force (includes air defense); Ministry of Home Affairs: Singapore Police Force (includes Police Coast Guard and the Gurkha Contingent) (2022)

note 1: the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force (GCSPF) is a paramilitary unit for riot control and acts as a rapid reaction force 

note 2: in 2022, the SAF announced that it would form a Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) by the end of the year

note 3: in 2009, Singapore established a multi-agency national Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) to work with law enforcement and maritime agencies to guard Singapore’s waters, including conducting daily patrols, as well as boarding and escort operations in the Singapore Strait; the MSTF is subordinate to the Singapore Navy

Military expenditures

3.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

3% of GDP (2020)

2.9% of GDP (2019) (approximately $15 billion)

2.9% of GDP (2018) (approximately $14.8 billion)

3% of GDP (2017) (approximately $14.8 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 60,000 active duty troops (45,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 8,000 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the SAF has a diverse and largely modern mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons; since 2010, the US has been the chief supplier of arms; other significant suppliers include France, Germany, Israel, and Sweden; Singapore has the most developed arms industry in Southeast Asia and is also its largest importer of weapons (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-21 years of age for compulsory military service for men; 16.5 years of age for voluntary enlistment (with parental consent); 24-month conscript service obligation, with a reserve obligation to age 40 (enlisted) or age 50 (officers); women are not conscripted, but they are allowed to volunteer for all services and branches, including combat arms (2022)

note 1: under the Enlistment Act, all male Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, unless exempted, are required to enter National Service (NS) upon attaining the age of 18; most NS conscripts serve in the Armed Forces, but some go into the Police Force or Civil Defense Force; as of 2020, conscripts comprised over half of the defense establishment

note 2: as of 2017, women made up about 7% of the active force

note 3: members of the Gurkha Contingent (GC) of the Singapore Police Force are mostly recruited from a small number of hill tribes in Nepal; the GC was formed in 1949 originally from selected ex-British Army Gurkhas

Military deployments

maintains permanent training detachments of military personnel in Australia, France, and the US (2022)

Military - note

Singapore is a member of the Five Powers Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; the FPDA commits the members to consult with one another in the event or threat of an armed attack on any of the members and to mutually decide what measures should be taken, jointly or separately; there is no specific obligation to intervene militarily

the SAF's roots go back to 1854 when the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps was formed under colonial rule; the first battalion of regular soldiers, the First Singapore Infantry Regiment, was organized in 1957; the modern SAF was established in 1965; as of 2022, the SAF was widely viewed as the best equipped military in southeast Asia; the Army was largely based on conscripts and reservists with a small cadre of professional soldiers, while the Air Force and Navy were primarily comprised of well-trained professionals (2022)

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the South China Sea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; hijacked vessels are often disguised and cargo diverted to ports in East Asia; crews have been murdered or cast adrift; the Singapore Straits saw 35 attacks against commercial vessels in 2021, a 50% increase over 2020 and the highest number of incidents reported since 1992; vessels were boarded in 33 of the 35 incidents, one crew was injured, another assaulted and two threatened during these incidents

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