Georgian Defense Forces: Land Forces (includes Aviation and Air Defense Forces), Special Operations Forces, National Guard; Ministry of the Interior: Border Police, Coast Guard (includes Georgian naval forces, which were merged with the Coast Guard in 2009) (2021)
Land Forces (Combined Arms Army), Air Forces, Navy Forces; Ministry of Internal Affairs: State Border Service (includes Coast Guard), Internal Security Troops (2021)
Military service age and obligation
conscription abolished in 2016, but reinstated in 2017; 18 to 27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty military service; conscript service obligation is 12 months (2019)
18-35 years of age for compulsory military service; service obligation 18 months or 12 months for university graduates; 17 years of age for voluntary service; 17 year olds are considered to be on active service at cadet military schools (2020)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.3% of GDP (2019)
2.1% of GDP (2018)
2.1% of GDP (2017)
2.2% of GDP (2016)
2.1% of GDP (2015)
4% of GDP (2019)
3.6% of GDP (2018)
3.8% of GDP (2017)
3.7% of GDP (2016)
5.5% of GDP (2015)
Military - note
Georgia does not have any military stationed in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but large numbers of Russian servicemen have been stationed in these regions since the 2008 Russia-Georgia War (2019)
since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020; Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces (the "Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army") backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994; six weeks of fighting resulted in about 6,000 deaths and ended after Armenia ceded swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh territory; tensions remain high, and Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of a series of border intrusions and of seizing pockets of territory including along a lake shared by the two countries since the fighting ended
Military and security service personnel strengths
information varies; approximately 25,000 troops, including active National Guard forces (2020)
information varies; approximately 65,000 total active troops (55,000 Army; 2,000 Navy; 8,000 Air Force); approximately 15,000 Ministry of Internal Affairs troops (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the Georgian Defense Forces are equipped mostly with older Russian and Soviet-era weapons; since 2010, it has received limited quantities of equipment from Bulgaria, France, and the US (2020)
the inventory of the Azerbaijan military is comprised mostly of Russian and Soviet-era weapons systems with a smaller mix of equipment from other countries; since 2010, Russia is the leading supplier of arms to Azerbaijan, followed by Israel and Turkey (2020)
