| Military branches | Portuguese Armed Forces: Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP); Portuguese National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) (2021) note: the GNR is a national gendarmerie force comprised of military personnel with law enforcement, internal security, civil defense, disaster response, and coast guard duties; it is responsible to the Minister of Internal Administration and to the Minister of National Defense; in the event of war or crisis, it may be placed under the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-30 years of age for voluntary or contract military service; no compulsory military service (abolished 2004), but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available; women serve in the armed forces, on naval ships since 1992, but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; contract service lasts for an initial period from two to six years, and can be extended to a maximum of 20 years of service. Voluntary military service lasts 12 months; reserve obligation to age 35 (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.59% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.38% of GDP (2019) 1.34% of GDP (2018) 1.24% of GDP (2017) 1.27% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the Portuguese Armed Forces have approximately 27,000 active duty personnel (14,000 Army; 7,000 Navy, inc about 1,000 marines; 6,000 Air Force); 24,500 National Republican Guard (military personnel) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Portuguese Armed Forces inventory includes mostly European and US-origin weapons systems along with a smaller mix of domestically-produced equipment; since 2010, Germany and the US are the leading suppliers of armaments to Portugal; Portugal's defense industry is primarily focused on shipbuilding (2020) |
| Military deployments | 200 Central African Republic (MINUSCA/EUTM); up to 120 Baltic States (NATO) (2021) |
| Military - note | Portugal is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
