Congo Republic of The Military - 2024

Military and security forces

Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force, Gendarmerie (2023)

note: the Gendarmerie is a paramilitary force with domestic law enforcement and security responsibilities; it is under the Ministry of Defense, but also reports to the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Interior also controls the National Police

Military expenditures

1.8% of GDP (2022 est.)
2.5% of GDP (2021 est.)
3.2% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.3% of GDP (2019 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 12,000 active-duty troops (including 2,000 Gendarmerie) (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the FAC has mostly Soviet-era armaments, with a small mix of French and South African equipment (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription ended in 1969 (2022)

Military - note

the FAC is viewed as having limited capabilities due to obsolescent and poorly maintained equipment and low levels of training; its primary focus is internal security; since its creation in 1961, the FAC has had a turbulent history; it has been sidelined by some national leaders in favor of personal militias, endured an internal rebellion (1996), and clashed with various rebel groups and political or ethnic militias (1993-1996, 2002-2005, 2017); during the 1997-1999 civil war, the military generally split along ethnic lines, with most northern officers supporting eventual winner SASSOU-Nguesso, and most southerners backing the rebels; others joined ethnic-based factions loyal to regional warlords; forces backing SASSOU-Nguesso were supported by Angolan troops and received some French assistance; the FAC also has undergone at least three reorganizations that included the incorporation of former rebel combatants and various ethnic and political militias; in recent years, France has provided some advice and training, and a military cooperation agreement was signed with Russia in 2019 (2023)