Algeria Military - 2024

Military and security forces

Algerian People's National Army (ANP): Land Forces, Naval Forces (includes Coast Guard), Air Forces, Territorial Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard (under ANP but responsible to the President), National Gendarmerie

Ministry of Interior: General Directorate of National Security (national police) (2023)

note: the National Gendarmerie performs police functions outside urban areas under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense; it is comprised of territorial, intervention/mobile, border guard, railway, riot control, and air support units; General Directorate of National Security share responsibility for maintaining law and order

Military expenditures

9% of GDP (2023)
4.8% of GDP (2022 est.)
5.6% of GDP (2021 est.)
6.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
6% of GDP (2019 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 250,000 active armed forces personnel (100,000 Army, 15,000 Air Force/Air Defense, 10,000 Navy, 1,000 Republican Guard, 125,000 Gendarmerie); approximately 200,000 General Directorate of National Security (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the ANP's inventory includes mostly Russian-sourced equipment; in recent years, Algeria has received arms from a variety of countries with Russia as the leading supplier (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service for men and women; 19-30 years of age for mandatory service for men (all Algerian men must register at age 17); service obligation reduced from 18 to 12 months in 2014 (2023)

note: conscripts comprise an estimated 70% of the military

Military - note

the ANP is responsible for external defense but also has some internal security responsibilities; key areas of concern include border and maritime security, terrorism, regional instability, and tensions with Morocco; Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front in Western Sahara and accuses Morocco of supporting the Algerian separatist Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK); border security and counterterrorism have received additional focus since the Arab Spring events of 2011 and the rise of terrorist threats emanating from Libya and the Sahel; the Army and Ministry of Defense (MND) paramilitary forces of the Gendarmerie and the border guards have beefed up their presence along the frontiers with Tunisia, Libya, Niger, and Mali to interdict and deter cross-border attacks by Islamic militant groups; the ANP and MND paramilitary forces have also increased counterterrorism cooperation with some neighboring countries, particularly Tunisia, including joint operations

the ANP has also played a large role in the country’s politics since independence in 1962, including coups in 1965 and 1991; it was a key backer of BOUTEFLIKA’s election in 1999 and remained a center of power during his 20-year rule; the military was instrumental in BOUTEFLIKA’s resignation in 2019, when it withdrew support and called for him to be removed from office

the ANP is well-funded and one of the better-equipped militaries in North Africa; over the past decade, it has made large investments in more modern equipment, including armored vehicles, air defense systems, fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and warships, largely from Russia but also China and Western European suppliers; it is a conscript-based force that exercises regularly, including jointly with foreign militaries such as those of Russia, Tunisia, and some Sahel countries; the ANP is part of the African Union’s Standby Force for North Africa; the core combat units of the Land Forces consists of multiple armored and mechanized divisions, as well as a combined airborne and special forces division, plus separate brigades of mechanized or motorized infantry and tanks; the Naval Forces’ principal warships include frigates, corvettes, and attack submarines; in 2015, the Naval Forces acquired from Italy its first amphibious transport dock (LHD) ship, which is capable of carrying helicopters, small landing craft, and more than 300 troops; the Air Force has more than 100 Russian-made combat aircraft, as well as about 200 Russian-made combat helicopters (2023)