Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) (2021)
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)
Military service age and obligation
18-22 years of age for voluntary military service (18-24 for officer cadets; 18-30 for technical/specialist personnel); no conscription; women are eligible to serve (2021)
18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2021)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.7% of GDP (2019)
1.2% of GDP (2018)
1.5% of GDP (2017)
1.8% of GDP (2016)
1.9% of GDP (2015)
0.9% of GDP (2021 est.)
1% of GDP (2020 est.)
1% of GDP (2019)
1% of GDP (2018)
1% of GDP (2017)
Military and security service personnel strengths
information varies; approximately 30,000 active duty troops, including about 4,000 serving in the Air Force (2021)
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)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the ZDF inventory is comprised mostly of older Chinese- and Russian-origin equipment; since 2000, China is the leading arms supplier to the ZDF, although there are no recorded deliveries of weapons since 2006; since the early 2000s, Zimbabwe has been under an arms embargo from the European Union, as well as targeted sanctions from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US (2020)
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)
