Kuwaiti Armed Forces: Kuwaiti Land Forces (KLF), Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya; includes Kuwaiti Air Defense Force, KADF), 25th Commando Brigade, and the Kuwait Emiri Guard Brigade; Kuwaiti National Guard (KNG); Coast Guard (Ministry of Interior) (2021)
note: the Kuwait Emiri Guard Authority and the 25th Commando Brigade exercise independent command authority within the Kuwaiti Armed Forces, although activities such as training and equipment procurement are often coordinated with the other services; the KNG possesses an independent command structure, equipment inventory, and logistics corps separate from the Ministry of Defense, the regular armed services, and the Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army, Army Aviation Command, Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Air Defense Command, Special Forces Command
National-Level Security Forces: Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS; a Special Forces Division aka the "Golden Division"), Prime Minister's Special Forces Division, Presidential Brigades
Ministry of Interior: Federal Police Forces Command, Border Guard Forces Command, Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, Emergency Response Division, Facilities Protection Directorate, and Energy Police Directorate
Popular Mobilization Commission and Affiliated Forces (PMF); Ministry of Pershmerga (Kurdistan Regional Government) (2020)
note: the PMF is a collection of approximately 50 paramilitary militias of different sizes and with varying political interests
Military service age and obligation
17-21 years of age for voluntary military service; Kuwait reintroduced one-year mandatory service for men aged 18-35 in May 2017 after having suspended conscription in 2001; service is divided in two phases - four months for training and eight months for military service (2018)
18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
5.6% of GDP (2019)
5.1% of GDP (2018)
5.6% of GDP (2017)
5.8% of GDP (2016)
4% of GDP (2020 est.)
3.9% of GDP (2019)
2.9% of GDP (2018)
3.9% of GDP (2017)
3.5% of GDP (2016)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Kuwaiti Armed Forces have approximately 17,000 active personnel (12,500 Army; 2,000 Navy; 2,500 Air Force); approximately 6,500 National Guard; note - Army figures include the Kuwait Emiri Guard Authority (est. 500) and the 25th Commando Brigade (N/A) (2021)
information varies; approximately 200,000 personnel under the Ministry of Defense (190,000 Army/Aviation Command/Special Forces; 5,000 Navy; 5,000 Air/Air Defense Forces); approximately 25,000 National-Level Security Forces (10,000 Iraqi Counterterrorism Service; 10,000 Presidential Brigades; 5,000 Prime Minister's Special Forces Division); est. 100-160,000 Popular Mobilization Forces; est. 150,000-200,000 Peshmerga Forces (2020-21)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the inventory of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces consists of a range of European- and US-sourced weapons systems; the US is the leading supplier of arms to Kuwait since 2010 (2020)
the Iraqi military inventory is comprised of Russian and Soviet-era equipment combined with newer European- and US-sourced platforms; since 2010, Russia and the US are the leading suppliers of military hardware to Iraq (2020)
