| Military branches | Malawi Defense Force (MDF): Army (includes marine unit), Air Force (established as a separate service August 2019; previously was an air wing under the Army) (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; high school equivalent required for enlisted recruits and college equivalent for officer recruits; initial engagement is 7 years for enlisted personnel and 10 years for officers (2021) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% of GDP (2019) 0.9% of GDP (2018) 0.7% of GDP (2017) 0.6% of GDP (2016) 0.6% of GDP (2015) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 8,000 total personnel (including about 200 air and 200 marine forces) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Malawi Defense Force inventory is comprised of mostly obsolescent or second-hand equipment from Europe and South Africa; since 2010, it has taken deliveries of limited amounts of mostly second-hand equipment from China, South Africa, and the UK, as well as non-lethal equipment donated by the US (2020) |
| Military deployments | 700 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (Jan 2021) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
