Introduction
How is the Military in Austria and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer): Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces, Militia (reserves) (2024).
In Austria, the military’s primary responsibilities are national defense and protecting Austria’s neutrality; it also has some domestic security and disaster response responsibilities; each of the nine federal states has a military command that provides a link between the military and civil authorities; the main tasks of these commands include providing military assistance during disasters and supporting security police operations
the Austrian military contributes to international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions; Austria has been constitutionally militarily non-aligned since 1955 but is an EU member and actively participates in EU peacekeeping and crisis management operations under the EU Common Security and Defense Policy; Austria is not a member of NATO but joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace framework in 1995 and participates in some NATO-led crisis management and peacekeeping operations; it has provided troops to international peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EU), Kosovo (NATO), and Lebanon (UN) in recent years; more than 100,000 Austrian military and civilian personnel have taken part in more than 50 international peace support and humanitarian missions since 1960 (2024)
the Austrian military contributes to international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions; Austria has been constitutionally militarily non-aligned since 1955 but is an EU member and actively participates in EU peacekeeping and crisis management operations under the EU Common Security and Defense Policy; Austria is not a member of NATO but joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace framework in 1995 and participates in some NATO-led crisis management and peacekeeping operations; it has provided troops to international peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EU), Kosovo (NATO), and Lebanon (UN) in recent years; more than 100,000 Austrian military and civilian personnel have taken part in more than 50 international peace support and humanitarian missions since 1960 (2024)
Security and military information of Austria
| Military and security service personnel strengths | approximately 20-25,000 active-duty personnel (includes conscripts and active militia) (2023) |
|---|---|
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the military's inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and imported weapons systems from European countries and the US; the Austrian defense industry produces a range of equipment and partners with other countries (2024) |
| Military service age and obligation | registration requirement at age 17, the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; men above the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service; women may volunteer; compulsory service is for 6 months, or optionally, alternative civil/community service (Zivildienst) for 9 months (2024). note 1: as of 2023, women made up about 4% of the military's full-time personnel note 2: in a January 2013 referendum, a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system |
| Military deployments | 170 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force); 290 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 170 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2024). |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2024 | 1% of GDP (2024 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2023 | 0.9% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2022 | 0.7% of GDP (2022) |
| Military Expenditures 2021 | 0.8% of GDP (2021) |
| Military Expenditures 2020 | 0.7% of GDP (2020) |
Terrorism
In Austria, the different Terrorist group(s) inlcude: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)
All Important Facts about Austria
Want to know more about Austria? Check all different factbooks for Austria below.
