Denmark Military 2023, CIA World Factbook

Danish Armed Forces (Forsvaret): Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Danish Home Guard (Reserves) (2023)

note: the Danish military maintains a joint service Arctic Command with the mission of protecting the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Arctic Region, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland; the command also conducts maritime pollution prevention, environmental monitoring, fishery inspections, search and rescue, hydrographical surveys, and provides support to governmental science missions

Military expenditures

1.7% of GDP (2023 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2021)

1.4% of GDP (2020)

1.3% of GDP (2019)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 17,000 active-duty personnel (10,000 Army; 3,500 Navy; 3,500 Air Force) (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Danish military inventory is comprised of a mix of modern European, US, and domestically produced equipment; the US has been the largest supplier of military equipment to Denmark in recent years; the Danish defense industry is active in the production of naval vessels, defense electronics, and subcomponents of larger weapons systems, such as the US F-35 fighter aircraft (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscripts serve an initial training period that varies from 4 to 12 months depending on specialization; former conscripts are assigned to mobilization units; women eligible to volunteer for military service; in addition to full time employment, the Danish military offers reserve contracts in all three branches (2023)

note 1: women have been able serve in all military occupations, including combat arms, since 1988; as of 2022, they made up about 9% of the military's full-time personnel; conscientious objectors can choose to instead serve 6 months in a non-military position, for example in Beredskabsstyrelsen (dealing with non-military disasters like fires, flood, pollution, etc.) or overseas foreign aid work

note 2: foreigners who have lived in Denmark for at least 1 year or in another EU country for 6 years may apply to join the armed forces, provided they are fluent in Danish

note 2: Denmark has had compulsory military service since 1849

Military deployments

approximately 225 Estonia (NATO); approximately 800 Latvia (NATO) (2023)

note: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Denmark, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe

Military - note

Denmark 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

Denmark is a member of the EU and voted to join the EU’s Common Defense and Security Policy in a June 2022 referendum

the Danish Armed Forces cooperate closely with the militaries of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; areas of cooperation include armaments, education, human resources, training and exercises, and operations; NORDEFCO was established in 2009

in 2018, the Defense Ministers of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC); the C-SOCC was declared operational in December 2020 (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding Denmark 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 Denmark 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Denmark 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.