| Military branches | Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Forces, Israel Naval Force (IN, includes commandos), Israel Air Force (IAF, includes air defense); Ministry of Public Security: Border Police (2021) note: the Border Police is a unit within the Israel Police with its own organizational and command structure; it works both independently as well as in cooperation with or in support of the Israel Police and Israel Defense Force |
| Military service age and obligation | 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druze) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 32 months for enlisted men and about 24 months for enlisted women (varies based on military occupation), 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9-year service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), age 24 (women) (2020) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5% of GDP (2019) 5% of GDP (2018) 5.5% of GDP (2017) 5.5% of GDP (2016) 5.5% of GDP (2015) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have approximately 173,000 active personnel (130,000 Ground Forces; 9,000 Naval; 34,000 Air Force) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the majority of the IDF's inventory is comprised of weapons that are domestically-produced or imported from Europe and the US; since 2010, the US is by far the leading supplier of arms to Israel, followed by Germany; Israel has a broad defense industrial base that can develop, produce, support, and sustain a wide variety of weapons systems for both domestic use and export, particularly armored vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, air defense, and guided missiles (2021) |
| Military - note | the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; as of July 2021, UNDOF consisted of about 1,250 personnel |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
