Republic of the Congo vs. Central African Republic
Military
Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Military branches
Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army (Armee de Terre), Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie (2021)
Central African Armed Forces (Forces Armees Centrafricaines, FACA): Army (includes an air squadron, Escadrille Centrafricaine), General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG); National Police (2020)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in the Armed Forces (2019)
18 years of age for military service; no conscription (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.7% of GDP (2019)
2.5% of GDP (2018)
4.3% of GDP (2017)
6.4% of GDP (2016)
1.5% of GDP (2019 est.)
1.4% of GDP (2018 est.)
1.4% of GDP (2017 est.)
1.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
1.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) have approximately 12,000 active duty troops (8,000 Army; 800 Navy; 1,000 Air Force; 2,000 Gendarmerie) (2020)
information varies; approximately 10,000 active troops, including an air component of 100-200 and up to 2,000 Gendarmerie (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the FAC is armed with mostly ageing Russian/Soviet-era weapons, with some French and South African equipment; the leading supplier of arms to the FAC since 2010 is South Africa (2020)
the FACA is lightly and poorly armed with mostly outdated weapons; since 2010, it has received small amounts of second-hand equipment from China, Russia, and Ukraine (2020)
note: since 2013, CAR has been under a UNSC arms embargo; the embargo bans all supplies of arms and related materiel to the country except to the CAR security forces if approved in advance by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee
