Finland vs. Norway
Military
| Finland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Finnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army (Maavoimat), Navy (Merivoimat), Air Force (Ilmavoimat); Ministry of the Interior: Border Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) (2021) note: the Border Guard becomes part of the FDF in wartime | Norwegian Armed Forces: Norwegian Army (Haeren), Royal Norwegian Navy (Kongelige Norske Sjoeforsvaret; includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret), Norwegian Special Forces, Norwegian Cyber Defense, Home Guard (Heimevernet, HV) (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | at age 18, all Finnish men are obligated to serve 6-12 months of service within a branch of the military or the Border Guard, and women may volunteer for service; after completing their initial conscript obligation, individuals enter the reserves and remain eligible for mobilization until the age of 60 (2019) | 19-35 years of age for male and female selective compulsory military service; 17 years of age for male volunteers (16 in wartime); 18 years of age for women; 19-month service obligation; conscripts first serve 12 months from 19-28, and then up to 4-5 refresher training periods until age 35, 44, 55, or 60 depending on rank and function (2019) note - Norway was the first NATO country to allow females to serve in all combat arms branches of the military (1988); it also has an all-female commando unit known as Jegertroppen (The Hunter Troop), which was established in 2014 |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.) 1.4% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2019) 1.4% of GDP (2018) 1.4% of GDP (2017) | 2% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.86% of GDP (2019) 1.73% of GDP (2018) 1.72% of GDP (2017) 1.74% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 23,000 total active duty personnel (16,000 Army; 4,000 Navy; 3,000 Air Force) (2020) | the Norwegian Armed Forces have approximately 23,000 active personnel (8,500 Army; 3,500 Navy; 3,500 Air Force; 7,500 other, including special operations, cyber, joint staff, intelligence, logistics support, active Home Guard, etc.); 40,000 Home Guard (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the inventory of the Finnish Defense Forces consists of a wide mix of mostly modern Western and domestically-produced weapons systems, as well as a limited quantity of Soviet-era equipment; since 2010, the US and several European countries, including France and Italy, are the leading foreign suppliers of armaments to Finland; the Finnish defense industry produces a variety of military equipment, including wheeled armored vehicles and naval vessels (2020) | the Norwegian Armed Forces inventory includes mostly imported European and US weapons systems, as well as a limited mix of domestically-produced equipment, particularly small naval craft; since 2010, the US is the leading supplier of weapons systems to Norway, followed by a variety of other countries, including France, Italy, South Korea, and Spain (2020) |
| Military deployments | 200 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2021) | 120 Lithuania (NATO) (2021) |
Source: CIA Factbook
