Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Slovenské Pozemné Sily), Air Forces (Slovenské Vzdusné Sily), Special Operations Forces (Sily Pre Speciálne Operácie) (2021)
Austrian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces (2021)
Military service age and obligation
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription in peacetime suspended in 2004; women are eligible to serve (2019)
registration 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)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.71% of GDP (2019)
1.23% of GDP (2018)
1.11% of GDP (2017)
1.12% of GDP (2016)
0.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.7% of GDP (2019)
0.7% of GDP (2018)
0.8% of GDP (2017)
0.7% of GDP (2016)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic have approximately 13,000 active duty personnel (6,000 Land Forces; 4,000 Air Forces; 3,000 other, including staff, special operations, and support forces) (2020)
the 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)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the inventory of the Slovakian military consists mostly of Soviet-era platforms; since 2010, it has imported limited quantities of equipment from China, Czechia, Italy, Russia, and the US (2020)
the 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)
Military deployments
240 Cyprus (UNFICYP); up to 150 Latvia (NATO) (Jan 2021)
