Belgian Armed Forces: Land Component, Naval Component, Air Component, Medical Service (2021)
Military service age and obligation
18-26 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription (abolished 1969); Luxembourg citizen or EU citizen with 3-year residence in Luxembourg (2021)
18 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 1995 (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.57% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.54% of GDP (2019)
0.5% of GDP (2018)
0.51% of GDP (2017)
0.39% of GDP (2016)
1.07% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.89% of GDP (2019)
0.89% of GDP (2018)
0.88% of GDP (2017)
0.89% of GDP (2016)
Military - note
Luxembourg is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949
Belgium is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949
in 2018, the Defense Ministers of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC); the C-SOCC was declared operational in December 2020
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Luxembourg Army has approximately 900 active personnel (2021)
the Belgian Armed Forces have approximately 26,000 active duty personnel (11,000 Land Component; 1,500 Navy; 5,000 Air Force; 1,500 Medical Service; 7,000 other, including joint staff, support, and training schools) (2020)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the inventory of Luxembourg's Army is a small mix of European and US equipment; since 2010, it has received small quantities of equipment from Germany, Norway, and Sweden (2020)
the Belgian Armed Forces have a mix of weapons systems from European countries, Israel, and the US; since 2010, France, Germany, and Switzerland are the leading suppliers of armaments; Belgium has an export-focused defense industry that focuses on components and subcontracting (2020)
