Italy Military 2023, CIA World Factbook

Italian Armed Forces: Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI; includes aviation, marines), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI); Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC) (2023)

note 1: the National Police and Carabinieri (gendarmerie or military police) maintain internal security; the National Police reports to the Ministry of Interior while the Carabinieri reports to the Ministry of Defense but is also under the coordination of the Ministry of Interior; the Carabinieri is primarily a domestic police force organized along military lines, with some overseas responsibilities

note 2: the Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations, including narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and illegal immigration

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2023 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.6% of GDP (2021)

1.6% of GDP (2020)

1.2% of GDP (2019)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 170,000 active personnel (100,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force); approximately 108,000 Carabinieri (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory includes a mix of domestically manufactured, imported, and jointly produced weapons systems, mostly from Europe and the US; in recent years, the US has been the lead supplier of military hardware to Italy; the Italian defense industry is capable of producing equipment across all the military domains with particular strengths in aircraft, armored vehicles, and naval vessels; it also participates in joint development and production of advanced weapons systems with other European countries and the US (2023)

Military service age and obligation

17-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some variations on age depending on the military branch); voluntary service is a minimum of 12 months with the option to extend in the Armed Forces or compete for positions in the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza, the Penitentiary Police, or the National Fire Brigade; recruits can also volunteer for 4 years military service; conscription abolished 2004 (2022)

note: women may serve in any military branch; as of 2019, women made up about 6% of the military's full-time personnel

Military deployments

120 Djibouti; approximately 750 Bulgaria (NATO); approximately 1,000 Middle East (NATO, European Assistance Mission Iraq); 850 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 250 Latvia (NATO); 1,000 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 400 Libya; 350 Niger; 250 Romania (NATO); 150 Somalia (EUTM) (2023)

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

Military - note

Italy 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

Italy is an active participant in EU, NATO, UN, and other multinational military, security, and humanitarian operations abroad; as of 2022, it hosted the headquarters for the EU’s Mediterranean naval operations force (EUNAVFOR-MED) in Rome and the US Navy’s 6^th Fleet in Naples; Italy was admitted to the UN in 1955 and in 1960 participated in its first UN peacekeeping mission, the UN Operation in Congo (ONUC); since 1960, it has committed more than 60,000 troops to UN missions; since 2006, Italy has hosted a training center in Vicenza for police personnel destined for peacekeeping missions (2023)

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