Czechia Military - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Czech Armed Forces: Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces (2023)

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2023 est.)

1.3% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2021)

1.3% of GDP (2020)

1.2% of GDP (2019)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 26,000 active personnel (20,000 Army; 6,000 Air Force) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Czech military has a mix of Soviet-era and more modern equipment, mostly of Western European origin from such suppliers as Austria, Germany, and Spain; Czechia has a considerable domestic defense industry; during the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was a major producer of tanks, armored personnel carriers, military trucks, and trainer aircraft (2023)

note: in 2019, Czechia announced a modernization plan to acquire more Western equipment that was compliant with NATO standards, including aircraft and armored vehicles

Military service age and obligation

18-28 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished 2004 (2022)

note: as of 2019, women comprised about 13% of the military's full-time personnel

Military deployments

up to 130 Lithuania (NATO); 130 Slovakia (NATO) (2022)

note: in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe

Military - note

Czechia joined NATO in 1999; Czechia, Hungary, and Poland were invited to begin accession talks at NATO's Madrid Summit in 1997, and in March 1999 they became the first former members of the Warsaw Pact to join the Alliance (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding Czechia on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Czechia 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Czechia 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.