Germany vs. Poland
Military
| Germany | Poland | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe, includes air defense), Joint Support Service (Streitkraeftebasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw), Cyber and Information Space Command (Kommando Cyber- und Informationsraum, Kdo CIR) (2021) | Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), Territorial Defense Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej); Ministry of the Interior: Border Guard (includes coast guard duties) (2021) note: the Polish Armed Forces are organized into a General Staff, an Armed Forces General Command, an Armed Forces Operational Command, Territorial Defense Forces, Military Police, and the Warsaw Garrison Command |
| Military service age and obligation | 17-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription ended July 2011; service obligation 8-23 months or 12 years; women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 (2019) | 18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months; women serve in the military on the same terms as men (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.56% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.36% of GDP (2019) 1.25% of GDP (2018) 1.23% of GDP (2017) 1.2% of GDP (2016) | 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.) 2.31% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.98% of GDP (2019) 2.02% of GDP (2018) 1.89% of GDP (2017) |
| Military - note | the Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO in May 1955; with the reunification of Germany in October 1990, the states of the former German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany in its membership of NATO | Poland joined NATO in 1999; Czechia, Hungary, and Poland were invited to begin accession talks at NATO's Madrid Summit in 1997, and in March 1999 they became the first former members of the Warsaw Pact to join the Alliance |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the German Federal Armed Forces have approximately 180,000 active duty personnel (62,000 Army; 16,000 Navy; 28,000 Air Force; 27,000 Joint Support Service; 20,000 Medical Service, 13,000 Cyber and Information Space Command; 14,000 other) (2020) note - Germany in 2020 announced it planned to increase the size of the military to about 200,000 troops by 2024 | approximately 120,000 total active duty personnel (60,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 17,000 Air Force; 3,500 Special Forces; 25,000 Territorial Defense Forces; 7,500 joint service) (2020) note - in June 2019, the Polish Government approved a plan to increase the size of the military by 50,000 troops over the coming decade |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the German Federal Armed Forces inventory is mostly comprised of weapons systems produced domestically or jointly with other European countries and Western imports; since 2010, the US is the leading foreign supplier of armaments to Germany; Germany's defense industry is capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of air, land, and naval military weapons systems, and is one of the world's leading arms exporters (2020) | the inventory of the Polish Armed Forces consists of a mix of Soviet-era and more modern Western weapons systems; since 2010, the leading suppliers of armaments to Poland are Finland, Germany, Italy, and the US (2020) |
| Military deployments | approximately 500 Middle East (NATO/Counter-ISIS campaign); 130 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 500 Lithuania (NATO); 800 Mali (MINUSMA/EUTM); note - Germany is a contributing member of the EuroCorps (2021) | 240 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); up to 175 Latvia (NATO); 250 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (June 2021) note: Poland contributes about 2,500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Warsaw and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units |
Source: CIA Factbook
