Belgium Military - 2024

Military and security forces

Belgian Armed Forces (Defensie or  La Défense): Land Component, Marine (Naval) Component, Air Component, Medical Component (2024)

note: the Belgian Federal Police is the national police force and responsible for internal security and nationwide law and order, including migration and border enforcement; the force reports to the ministers of interior and justice

Military expenditures

1.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
1.2% of GDP (2022)
1.1% of GDP (2021)
1% of GDP (2020)
0.9% of GDP (2019)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 25,000 active-duty personnel (10,000 Land Component; 1,500 Marine Component; 5,000 Air Force Component; 1,500 Medical Component; 7,000 other, including joint staff, support, and training schools) (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the armed forces have a mix of weapons systems from European countries, Israel, and the US; Belgium has an export-focused defense industry that focuses on components and subcontracting (2024)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished in 1995 (2024)

note 1: in 2023, women comprised nearly 11% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: foreign nationals 18-34 years of age who speak Dutch or French and are citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland may apply to join the military

Military deployments

125 France (EuroCorps); 325 Eastern Europe (NATO); 100 Middle East; 325 Niger  (2023)

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

Military - note

the Belgian military’s responsibilities include territorial defense, humanitarian/disaster relief, assistance to the police if required, international peacekeeping missions, and support to its NATO and EU security commitments, which Belgium considers vital components of its national security policy; outside of the country, the military operates almost always within an international organization or a coalition, such as its ongoing deployments to Africa for the EU and UN, eastern Europe as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, and the Middle East with an international coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; Belgium was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949; it hosts the NATO headquarters in Brussels; Belgium also cooperates with neighboring countries, such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in conducting joint patrols of their respective air spaces and in a composite combined special operations command with Denmark and the Netherlands

the Belgian military is a small, professional, and all-volunteer force equipped with modern Western equipment; the Land Component’s combat forces are a motorized brigade and a special operations regiment; the Marine Component is a compact but active force that conducts a variety of missions ranging from territorial water patrols to humanitarian and counterpiracy operations, as well as support to multinational security operations; it has two frigates, which are supported by several patrol boats and mine warfare vessels; the Air Component has about 50 US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, which are slated to be replaced by US F-35 stealth multirole fighter aircraft by 2025 (2023)