Lithuania vs. Belarus
Military
| Lithuania | Belarus | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Lithuanian Armed Forces (Lietuvos Ginkluotosios Pajegos): Land Forces (Sausumos Pajegos), Naval Forces (Karines Juru Pajegos), Air Forces (Karines Oro Pajegos), Special Operations Forces (Specialiuju Operaciju Pajegos); National Defense Volunteer Forces (Savanoriu Pajegos); National Riflemen's Union (paramilitary force that acts as an additional reserve force) (2021) | Belarus Armed Forces: Army, Air and Air Defense Force, Special Operations Force, Special Troops (electronic warfare, signals, engineers, biological/chemical/nuclear protection troops, etc); Ministry of Interior: State Border Troops, Militia, Internal Troops (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 19-26 years of age for conscripted military service (males); 9-month service obligation; in 2015, Lithuania reinstated conscription after having converted to a professional military in 2008; 18-38 for voluntary service (male and female) (2019) | 18-27 years of age for compulsory military or alternative service; conscript service obligation is 12-18 months, depending on academic qualifications, and 24-36 months for alternative service, depending on academic qualifications; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2020) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.13% of GDP (2020 est.) 2% of GDP (2019) 1.97% of GDP (2018) 1.71% of GDP (2017) 1.48% of GDP (2016) | 1.2% of GDP (2019) 1.2% of GDP (2018) 1.2% of GDP (2017) 1.3% of GDP (2016) 1.3% of GDP (2015) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the Lithuanian Armed Forces have approximately 16,000 active duty personnel (12,500 Army, including about 5,000 National Defense Voluntary Forces; 600 Navy; 1,000 Air Force; 2,000 other, including special operations forces, logistics support, training, etc); est. 11,000 Riflemen Union (2021) | the Belarus Armed Forces have approximately 45,000 active duty troops; information on the individual services varies, but probably includes about 25,000 Army, 15,000 Air/Air Defense, and 5,000 Special Operations forces (2020) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Lithuanian Armed Forces' inventory is mostly a mix of Western weapons systems and Soviet-era equipment (primarily aircraft and helicopters); Germany and the UK are the leading suppliers of armaments to Lithuania since 2010 (2020) | the inventory of the Belarus Armed Forces is comprised of Russian-origin equipment; Belarus's defense industry manufactures some equipment, including vehicles, guided weapons, and electronic warfare systems (2021) |
| Military deployments | contributes about 350-550 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Warsaw and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units | contributes forces to CSTO's Rapid Reaction Force (2020) |
Source: CIA Factbook
