Equatorial Guinea Military - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Equatorial Guinea Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial, FAGE): Equatorial Guinea National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, GNGE (Army)), Navy, Air Force; Gendarmerie (Guardia Civil) (2023)

note: police report to the Ministry of National Security, while gendarmes report to the Ministry of National Defense; police generally are responsible for maintaining law and order in the cities, while gendarmes are responsible for security outside cities and for special events; military personnel also fulfill some police functions in border areas, sensitive sites, and high-traffic areas

Military expenditures

1.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2019 est.)

1.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

1.1% of GDP (2017 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 1,500 active duty troops; approximately 500 Gendarmerie (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the FAGE is armed with mostly older (typically Soviet-era) and second-hand weapons systems; in recent years, it has sought to modernize its naval inventory with purchases of vessels from several countries, including Bulgaria and Israel; China and Russia have also supplied small amounts of equipment to the FAGE (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for selective compulsory military service, although conscription is rare in practice; 24-month service obligation (2023)

Military - note

the FAGE’s National Guard (Army) has only three small infantry battalions with limited combat capabilities; the country has invested heavily in naval capabilities in recent years to protect its oil installations and combat piracy and crime in the Gulf of Guinea; while the Navy was small, its inventory includes a light frigate and a corvette, as well as several off-shore patrol boats; the Air Force has only a few operational combat aircraft and ground attack-capable helicopters (2023)

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau reported two incidents in the offshore waters of Equatorial Guinea in 2022; one incident involved a boarding and kidnapping and the other where a ship was fired upon; the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea remain a very high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 3 January 2023, which states in part, "Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea”

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