| Military branches | Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Republican Guard), Syrian Naval Forces, Syrian Air Forces, Syrian Air Defense Forces, National Defense Forces (pro-government militia and auxiliary forces) (2021) note: the Syrian government is working to demobilize militias or integrate them into its regular forces |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-42 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve (2019) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | N/A; since the start of the civil war in 2011, the Syrian Armed Forces (SAF) have taken significant losses in personnel; prior to the civil war, the SAF had approximately 300,000 active troops, including 200-225,000 Army; by 2018, its estimated size was reportedly less than 100,000 due to casualties and desertions; currently, the SAF is trying to rebuild and integrate government-allied militias and auxiliary forces while continuing to engage in active military operations (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the SAF's inventory is comprised mostly of Russian and Soviet-era equipment; since 2010, Russia has supplied nearly all of Syria's imported weapons systems, although China and Iran have also provided military equipment (2020) |
| Military - note | the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; as of late 2020, UNDOF consisted of about 1,100 military personnel |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
