Introduction
How is the Military in Eritrea and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF): Eritrean Ground Forces, Eritrean Navy, Eritrean Air Force (includes Air Defense Force); People's Militia (aka People's Army or Hizbawi Serawit) (2023).
In Eritrea, the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion; the Army is the dominant service; it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses (2023)
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses (2023)
Security and military information of Eritrea
| Military and security service personnel strengths | limited available information; estimated 150,000-200,000 personnel (2023) |
|---|---|
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the EDF inventory is comprised primarily of older Russian and Soviet-era systems; Eritrea was under a UN arms embargo from 2009 to 2018; from the 1990s to 2008, Russia was the leading supplier of arms to Eritrea, and in recent years, Eritrea has expressed interest in purchasing additional Russian equipment; in 2022, it reportedly received some UAVs from Russia (2023) |
| Military service age and obligation | Eritrea mandates military service for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 40; 18-month conscript service obligation, which includes 4-6 months of military training and 12 months of military or other national service (military service is most common); in practice, military and national service is often extended indefinitely; citizens up to the age of 55 eligible for recall during mobilization (2023). note: as of 2020, women were estimated to make up as much as 30% of the Eritrean military |
| Military deployments | . |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2019 | 10% of GDP (2019 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2018 | 10.2% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2017 | 10.3% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2016 | 10.4% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2015 | 10.6% of GDP (2015 est.) |
All Important Facts about Eritrea
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