Djibouti Armed Forces (FAD): Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie; Djibouti Coast Guard (2021)
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force (Ye Ityopya Ayer Hayl, ETAF) (2020)
note(s): in January 2020 the Ethiopian Government announced it had re-established a navy, which was disbanded in 1996; in March 2019 Ethiopia signed a defense cooperation agreement with France which stipulated that France would support the establishment of an Ethiopian navy, which will reportedly be based out of Djibouti
in 2018, Ethiopia established a Republican Guard for protecting senior officials; the Republican Guard is a military unit accountable to the Prime Minister
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for voluntary military service; 16-25 years of age for voluntary military training; no conscription (2020)
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service, but the military can conduct callups when necessary and compliance is compulsory (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
4.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
3.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
4% of GDP (2014 est.)
4.3% of GDP (2013 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2019 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Djibouti Armed Forces (FAD) have approximately 10,500 active troops (8,000 Army; 250 Naval; 250 Air; 2,000 Gendarmerie) (2020)
information varies; approximately 150,000 active duty troops, including about 3,000 Air Force personnel (no personnel numbers available for the newly-established Navy) (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the FAD is armed largely with older French and Soviet-era weapons systems; since 2010, it has received limited amounts of mostly second-hand equipment from a variety of countries, including Canada, China, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the US (2020)
the ENDF's inventory is comprised mostly of Soviet-era equipment from the 1970s; since 2010, Russia and Ukraine are the leading suppliers of largely second-hand weapons and equipment to the ENDF, followed by China and Hungary; Ethiopia has a modest industrial defense base centered on small arms and production of armored vehicles (2020)
Military deployments
960 Somalia (AMISOM) (2021)
estimated 10,000 Somalia (4,500 for AMISOM); 800 Sudan (UNAMID); 3,200 Sudan (UNISFA); 2,100 South Sudan (UNMISS) (Jan 2021)
