Rwanda Defense Force (RDF): Rwanda Army (Rwanda Land Force), Rwanda Air Force (Force Aerienne Rwandaise, FAR), Rwanda Reserve Force (2021)
Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF): Land Forces, Air Forces, Marine Forces, Special Forces Command, Reserve Force (2021)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; Rwandan citizenship is required; enlistment is either as contract (5-years, renewable twice) or career (2019)
18-25 years of age for voluntary military duty (must be single, no children); 9-year service obligation (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.2% of GDP (2019)
1.2% of GDP (2018)
1.2% of GDP (2017)
1.2% of GDP (2016)
1.2% of GDP (2015)
2.1% of GDP (2019)
1.4% of GDP (2018)
1.5% of GDP (2017)
1.6% of GDP (2016)
1.4% of GDP (2015)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) has approximately 33,000 active personnel (32,000 Army; 1,000 Air Force) (2021)
information varies; approximately 45-50,000 troops, including about 1,000-1,500 air and marine personnel (2021)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the RDF's inventory includes mostly Soviet-era and older Western - mostly French and South African - equipment; Rwanda has received a limited supply of imports since 2010 from a variety of countries, including China, Israel, Russia, and Turkey (2020)
the UPDF's inventory is mostly older Russian/Soviet-era equipment with a limited mix of more modern Russian- and Western-origin arms; since 2010, the leading suppliers of arms to the UPDF are Russia and Ukraine (2020)
Military deployments
1,370 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,125 Sudan (UNAMID); 2,750 South Sudan (UNMISS) (2021)
note - in mid-2021, Rwanda sent about 1,000 combat troops to Mozambique to assist the Mozambique Government in combating an insurgency
