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Austria vs. Italy

Military

AustriaItaly
Military branchesAustrian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces (2021)Italian Armed Forces: Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI; includes aviation, marines), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI); Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC) (2021)

note(s): the Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie; for its civil police functions, the Carabinieri falls under the control of the Ministry of the Interior; the Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations, including narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and illegal immigration
Military service age and obligationregistration requirement at age 17, the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service (6 months), or optionally, alternative civil/community service (9 months); males 18 to 50 years old in the militia or inactive reserve are subject to compulsory service; in a January 2012 referendum, a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system (2015)18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in any military branch; Italian citizenship required; 1-year service obligation; conscription abolished 2004 (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP0.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

0.7% of GDP (2019)

0.7% of GDP (2018)

0.8% of GDP (2017)

0.7% of GDP (2016)
1.39% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.18% of GDP (2019)

1.23% of GDP (2018)

1.2% of GDP (2017)

1.18% of GDP (2016)
Military and security service personnel strengthsthe Austrian Armed Forces have approximately 23,000 total active duty personnel (13,000 Land Forces; 2,500 Air Force; 7,500 other, support forces) (2021)the Italian Armed Forces have approximately 170,000 active personnel (100,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force); approximately 107,000 Carabinieri (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitionsthe Austrian military's inventory includes a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons systems from European countries and the US; since 2010, Germany and Italy are the leading suppliers of armaments to Austria; the Austrian defense industry produces a range of equipment and partners with other countries (2020)the Italian Armed Forces' inventory includes a mix of domestically-produced, jointly-produced, and imported European and US weapons systems; the US is the leading supplier of weapons to Italy since 2010, followed by Germany; the Italian defense industry is capable of producing equipment across all the military domains with particular strengths in naval vessels and aircraft; it also participates in joint development and production of advanced weapons systems with other European countries and the US (2020)
Military deployments300 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force); 320 Kosovo (NATO); 180 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (March 2021)120 Djibouti; 1,100 Middle East/Iraq/Kuwait (NATO, counter-ISIS campaign, European Assistance Mission Iraq); 630 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 200 Latvia (NATO); 1,200 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 400 Libya; 290 Niger; 150 Somalia (EUTM) (2021)

Source: CIA Factbook