South African National Defence Force (SANDF): South African Army (includes Reserve Force), South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services (2021)
Botswana Defence Force (BDF): Ground Forces Command, Air Arm Command, Defense Logistics Command (2021)
Military service age and obligation
18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2021)
18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2019)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.9% of GDP (2021 est.)
1% of GDP (2020 est.)
1% of GDP (2019)
1% of GDP (2018)
1% of GDP (2017)
2.8% of GDP (2019)
2.8% of GDP (2018)
3% of GDP (2017)
3.4% of GDP (2016)
2.7% of GDP (2015)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is comprised of approximately 75,000 personnel (40,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 10,000 Air Force; 8,000 Military Health Service; 10,000 other, including administrative, logistics, military police) (2020)
the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) has approximately 9,000 active personnel (2021)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the SANDF's inventory consists of a mix of domestically-produced and foreign-supplied equipment; South Africa's domestic defense industry produced most of the Army's major weapons systems (some were jointly-produced with foreign companies), while the Air Force and Navy inventories include a mix of European, Israeli, and US-origin weapons systems; since 2010, Sweden is the largest supplier of weapons to the SANDF (2020)
the BDF has a mix of foreign-supplied and mostly older weapons and equipment, largely from Europe and the US; since 2010, France is the leading supplier of armaments to the BDF (2020)
