| Military branches | Pakistan Army (includes National Guard), Pakistan Navy (includes Marine forces, Maritime Security Agency), Pakistan Air Force (Pakistan Fizaia); Ministry of Interior paramilitary forces: Frontier Corps, Pakistan Rangers (2021) note: the National Guard is a paramilitary force and one of the Army's reserve forces, along with the Pakistan Army Reserve, the Frontier Corps, and the Pakistan Rangers |
| Military service age and obligation | 16-23 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age 18; women serve in all three armed forces; reserve obligation to age 45 for enlisted men, age 50 for officers (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% of GDP (2019) 4.1% of GDP (2018) 3.8% of GDP (2017) 3.6% of GDP (2016) 3.6% of GDP (2015) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 640,000 active personnel (550,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 60,000 Air Force) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Pakistan military inventory includes a broad mix of equipment, primarily from China, France, Ukraine, the UK, and the US; since 2010, China and the US are the leading suppliers of arms to Pakistan; Pakistan also has a large domestic defense industry (2020) |
| Military deployments | 1,240 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,950 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 150 Mali (MINUSMA); 900 Sudan (UNAMID) (Jan 2021) |
| Military - note | the military has carried out three coups since Pakistan's independence in 1947 and remains the most influential political actor in the country |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
