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Kenya vs. Uganda

Military

KenyaUganda
Military branchesKenya Defence Forces: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Kenya Air Force (2021)

note: the National Police Service includes a paramilitary General Service Unit
Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF): Land Forces, Air Forces, Marine Forces, Special Forces Command, Reserve Force (2021)
Military service age and obligationno conscription; 18-26 years of age for male and female voluntary service (under 18 with parental consent; upper limit 30 years of age for specialists, tradesmen, or women with a diploma; 39 years of age for chaplains/imams), with a 9-year obligation (7 years for Kenyan Navy) and subsequent 3-year re-enlistments; applicants must be Kenyan citizens (2020)18-25 years of age for voluntary military duty (must be single, no children); 9-year service obligation (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP1.3% of GDP (2019)

1.2% of GDP (2018)

1.3% of GDP (2017)

1.3% of GDP (2016)

1.3% of GDP (2015)
2.1% of GDP (2019)

1.4% of GDP (2018)

1.5% of GDP (2017)

1.6% of GDP (2016)

1.4% of GDP (2015)
Military - notethe Kenya Coast Guard Service (established 2018) is under the Ministry of Interior, but led by a military officer and comprised of personnel from the military, as well as the National Police Service, intelligence services, and other government agencies (2020)

the UPDF, which is constitutionally granted seats in parliament, is widely viewed as a key constituency for MUSEVENI; it has been used by MUSEVENI and the NRM to break up rallies, raid opposition offices, and surveil rival candidates; during the 2020 election cycle, senior UPDF officer said that the military would not obey a non-NRM political leader

the UPDF has conducted operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against a Congo-based Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department in March 2021 as the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ISIS-DRC; see the Terrorist Group Appendix); beginning in 2012, the UPDF also led regional efforts to pursue the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a small, violent group of Ugandan origin that conducted widespread attacks against civilians in much of Central Africa; the UPDF withdrew from the mission in 2017 after declaring that the LRA no longer posed a security threat

Uganda intervened in the South Sudan civil war in 2013-2016 and UPDF forces have clashed with South Sudanese forces along the border as recently as 2020

Military and security service personnel strengthsthe Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) are comprised of approximately 24,000 personnel (20,000 Army; 1,500 Navy; 2,500 Air Force) (2020)information varies; approximately 45-50,000 troops, including about 1,000-1,500 air and marine personnel (2021)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitionsthe KDF's inventory traditionally carried mostly older or second-hand Western weapons systems, particularly from France, the UK, and the US; however, since the 2000s it has sought to modernize and diversify its imports; suppliers since 2010 include China, France, Italy, Jordan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, and the US (2020)the UPDF's inventory is mostly older Russian/Soviet-era equipment with a limited mix of more modern Russian- and Western-origin arms; since 2010, the leading suppliers of arms to the UPDF are Russia and Ukraine (2020)
Military deployments3,650 Somalia (AMISOM) (2021)6,200 Somalia (AMISOM); 620 Somalia (UNSOM); 250 Equatorial Guinea (Jan 2021)

Source: CIA Factbook