Poland Land 2023, CIA World Factbook

Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), Territorial Defense Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej) (2023)

note: the police force is a national law enforcement body with regional and municipal units overseen by the Ministry of Interior and Administration; the Border Guard is responsible for border (including coastal) security and combating irregular migration and also reports to the Ministry of Interior and Administration

Military expenditures

3.9% of GDP (2023 est.)

2.4% of GDP (2022 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2021)

2.2% of GDP (2020)

2% of GDP (2019)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 120,000 active-duty personnel (65,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 15,000 Air Force; 3,000 Special Forces; 25,000 joint service/other; 5,000 active Territorial Defense Forces); approximately 25,000 other Territorial Defense Forces (reserves) (2022)

note: in June 2019, the Polish Government approved a plan to increase the size of the military over a period of 10 years to over 200,000 troops, including doubling the size of the Territorial Defense Forces; in 2021, it announced additional plans to increase the size of the military to over 300,000 personnel

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory consists of a mix of Soviet-era and more modern, NATO-compatible, weapons systems; in recent years, the leading suppliers of armaments have included several European countries, South Korea, and the US; Poland has a large domestic defense sector that produces or provides upgrades to a wide variety of weapons systems, particularly ground systems such as tanks and other armored vehicles; it also cooperates with the European and US defense sectors (2023)

note: in late 2018, Poland announced a 7-year (through 2026) approximately $50 billion defense modernization plan that would include such items as 5th generation combat aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, rocket artillery, helicopters, submarines, frigates, and improved cyber security; in 2022, it signed large military weapons contracts with South Korea and the US

Military service age and obligation

18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months; women serve in the military on the same terms as men (2022)

note 1: as of 2019, women made up about 7% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: in May 2022, Poland announced a new 12-month voluntary military service program with recruits going through a 1-month basic training period with a military unit, followed by 11 months of specialized training; upon completion of service, the volunteers would be allowed to join the Territorial Defense Forces or the active reserve, and have priority to join the professional army and be given preference for employment in the public sector; the program is part of an effort to increase the size of the Polish military

Military deployments

250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); up to 180 Latvia (NATO); 200 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 230 Romania (NATO) (2023)

note 1: Poland has obligated about 2,500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation

note 2: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Poland, have committed additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in the Baltic States and eastern Europe

Military - note

Poland 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

since 2017, Poland has hosted a US-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative; since 2014, Poland has also hosted NATO fighter detachments at Malbork Air Base under NATO's enhanced air policing arrangements

Poland hosts a NATO-led divisional headquarters (Multinational Division Northeast; operational in 2018), which coordinates training and preparation activities of its respective subordinate battlegroups in Poland and Lithuania; Poland also hosts a corps-level headquarters (Multinational Corps Northeast) (2023)

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