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)
Armed Forces of Uruguay (Fuerzas Armadas del Uruguay): National Army (Ejercito Nacional), National Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Maritime National Prefecture (Coast Guard)), Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aerea); Guardia Nacional Republicana (paramilitary regiment of the National Police) (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)
18-30 years of age (18-22 years of age for Navy) for male or female voluntary military service; up to 40 years of age for specialists; enlistment is voluntary in peacetime, but the government has the authority to conscript in emergencies (2021)
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)
2% of GDP (2019)
2.1% of GDP (2018)
2% of GDP (2017)
1.9% of GDP (2016)
1.8% of GDP (2015)
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 Armed Forces of Uruguay have approximately 22,000 active personnel (14,500 Army; 5,000 Navy; 2,500 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 inventory of the Armed Forces of Uruguay includes a wide variety of older or second-hand equipment; since 2010, it has imported limited amounts of military hardware from about 10 countries with Spain as the leading supplier (2020)
Military deployments
250 Cyprus (UNFICYP) (Jan 2021)
925 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MINUSCO); 210 Golan Heights (UNDOF) (Jan 2021)
