prior to August 2021, the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were comprised of military, police, and other security elements:
Ministry of Defense: Afghan National Army ((ANA), Afghan Air Force, Afghan Army Special Security Forces (ASSF; includes ANA Special Operations Command, General Command Police Special Units (GCPSU), and the Special Mission Wing (SMW)), Afghanistan National Army Territorial Forces (ANA-TF, lightly-armed local security forces); Afghan Border Force (ABF); Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF)
Ministry of Interior: Afghan Uniform (National) Police (AUP); Public Security Police (PSP); Afghan Border Police (ABP); Afghan Anti-Crime Police; Afghan Local Police; Afghan Public Protection Force; Special Security Forces
National Directorate of Security ((NDS), intelligence service) (2021)
People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (PLAN, includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (PLAAF, includes airborne forces), Rocket Force (strategic missile force), and Strategic Support Force (information warfare, cyber, space forces); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2021)
note(s): the PAP is a paramilitary police component of China's armed forces that is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and charged with internal security, law enforcement, counterterrorism, and maritime rights protection
in 2018, the Coast Guard was moved from the State Oceanic Administration to the PAP; in 2013, China merged four of its five major maritime law enforcement agencies - the China Marine Surveillance (CMS), Maritime Police, Fishery Law Enforcement (FLE), and Anti-Smuggling Police - into a unified coast guard
Military service age and obligation
not available
18-22 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.2% of GDP (2019)
1% of GDP (2018)
0.9% of GDP (2017)
1% of GDP (2016)
1% of GDP (2015)
1.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.9% of GDP (2019)
1.9% of GDP (2018)
1.9% of GDP (2017)
1.9% of GDP (2016)
Military and security service personnel strengths
not available; prior to August 2021, the ANDSF had approximately 300,000 personnel (180,000 Ministry of Defense; 120,000 Ministry of Interior)
information varies; approximately 2 million total active duty troops (est. 1.0 - 1.1 million Ground; 250,000 Navy/Marines; 350-400,000 Air Force; 120,000 Rocket Forces; 150-175,000 Strategic Support Forces); est. 600-650,000 People's Armed Police (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
prior to August 2021, the Afghan military inventory was mostly a mix of Soviet-era and more modern US and other foreign equipment; since 2010, the US was the leading supplier of arms to Afghanistan, followed by Russia (2021)
the PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries; Russia is the top supplier of foreign military equipment since 2010, followed by France and Ukraine; the Chinese defense-industrial sector is large and capable of producing advanced weapons systems across all military domains; it is the world's second largest arms producer (2020)
note: the PLA is in the midst of a decades-long modernization effort; in 2017, President XI set three developmental goals for the force - becoming a mechanized force with increased information and strategic capabilities by 2020, a fully modernized force by 2035, and a worldwide first-class military by mid-century
