Argentina vs. Brazil
Military
| Argentina | Brazil | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic (Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina): Argentine Army (Ejercito Argentino), Navy of the Argentine Republic (Armada Republica; includes naval aviation and naval infantry), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA); Ministry of Security: Gendarmería Nacional Argentina (National Gendarmerie), Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard) (2021) | Brazilian Armed Forces: Brazilian Army (Exercito Brasileiro, EB), Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil, MB, includes Naval Aviation and Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais)), Brazilian Air Force (Forca Aerea Brasileira, FAB); Public Security Forces (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-24 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription suspended in 1995; Argentinians can still be drafted in times of crisis, national emergency, or war, or if the Defense Ministry is unable to fill all vacancies to keep the military functional (2019) | 18-45 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 10-12 months; 17-45 years of age for voluntary service; an increasing percentage of the ranks are "long-service" volunteer professionals; women were allowed to serve in the armed forces beginning in early 1980s, when the Brazilian Army became the first army in South America to accept women into career ranks; women serve in Navy and Air Force only in Women's Reserve Corps (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% of GDP (2019) 0.7% of GDP (2018) 0.9% of GDP (2017) 0.8% of GDP (2016) 0.9% of GDP (2015) | 1.5% of GDP (2019) 1.5% of GDP (2018) 1.4% of GDP (2017) 1.3% of GDP (2016) 1.4% of GDP (2015) |
| Military - note | the Argentine military focuses primarily on border security and counter-narcotics operations; in 2018, the government approved a decree allowing greater latitude for the military in internal security missions, with a focus on logistics support in border areas | the military's primary role is enforcing border security, particularly in the Amazon states; it also assists with internal security operations with a focus on organized crime Brazilian police forces are divided into Federal Police (around 15,000 personnel), Military Police (approximately 400,000 personnel), and Civil Police (approximately 125,000 personnel); the Federal Police serve under the Ministry of Justice, while the Military and Civil police are subordinate to the state governments; the National Public Security Force (Forca Nacional de Seguranca Publica or SENASP) is a national police force made up of Military Police from various states; all state Military Police are classified as reserve troops and ancillary forces of the Brazilian Army |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 83,000 active duty personnel (50,000 Army; 18,000 Navy (includes about 3,000 marines); 15,000 Air Force); est. 20,000 Gendarmerie (2021) | the Brazilian Armed Forces have approximately 360,000 active personnel (215,000 Army; 75,000 Navy; 70,000 Air Force) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the inventory of Argentina's armed forces is a mix of domestically-produced and mostly older imported weapons, largely from Europe and the US; since 2010, France and the US are the leading suppliers of equipment; Argentina has an indigenous defense industry that can produce air, land, and sea systems (2020) | the Brazilian military's inventory consists of a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons, largely from Europe and the US; since 2010, France, Germany, the UK, and the US are the leading suppliers of military equipment to Brazil; Brazil's defense industry is capable of designing and manufacturing equipment for all three military services and for export; it also jointly produces equipment with other countries (2020) |
Source: CIA Factbook
