Tanzania People's Defense Forces (TPDF or Jeshi la Wananchi la Tanzania, JWTZ): Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, National Building Army (Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa, JKT), People's Militia (Reserves); Ministry of Home Affairs paramilitary forces: Police Field Force (2021)
note: the National Building Army is a paramilitary organization under the Defense Forces that provides six months of military and vocational training to individuals as part of their two years of public service; after completion of training, some graduates join the regular Defense Forces while the remainder become part of the People's (or Citizen's) Militia
Rwanda Defense Force (RDF): Rwanda Army (Rwanda Land Force), Rwanda Air Force (Force Aerienne Rwandaise, FAR), Rwanda Reserve Force (2021)
Military service age and obligation
18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; 6-year commitment (2-year contracts afterwards); selective conscription for 2 years of public service (2021)
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)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.3% of GDP (2019)
1.3% of GDP (2018)
1.1% of GDP (2017)
1.1% of GDP (2016)
1.1% of GDP (2015)
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)
Military and security service personnel strengths
the Tanzania People's Defense Forces (TPDF) have an estimated 26,000 active personnel (22,000 Land Forces; 1,000 Naval Forces; 3,000 Air Force) (2020)
the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) has approximately 33,000 active personnel (32,000 Army; 1,000 Air Force) (2021)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the TPDF inventory includes mostly Soviet-era and Chinese equipment; since 2010, China is the leading supplier of arms to the TPDF (2020)
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)
Military deployments
450 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 775 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 120 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 330 Sudan (UNAMID) (Jan 2021)
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
