Introduction
How is the Military in Tanzania and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Tanzania People's Defense Forces (TPDF or Jeshi la Wananchi la Tanzania, JWTZ): Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, National Building Army (Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa, JKT), People's Militia (Reserves)
Ministry of Home Affairs: Tanzania Police Force (2024).
Ministry of Home Affairs: Tanzania Police Force (2024).
In Tanzania, the TDPF’s primary concerns are maritime piracy and smuggling, border security, terrorism, animal poaching, and spillover from instability in neighboring countries, particularly Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); it participates in multinational training exercises, regional peacekeeping deployments, and has ties with a variety of foreign militaries, including those of China, India, and the US; it has contributed troops to the UN’s Force Intervention Brigade in the DRC; the TPDF also participated in the former Southern African Development Community intervention force in Mozambique, which assisted the Mozambique military in combating fighters affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); the regional force withdrew in 2024, but the TPDF continues to maintain troops in Mozambique as part of a separate bilateral security agreement; since 2020, the TPDF has reinforced the border with Mozambique following several cross-border attacks by ISIS fighters (2024)
Security and military information of Tanzania
| Military and security service personnel strengths | approximately 25,000 active-duty personnel (21,000 Land Forces; 1,000 Naval Forces; 3,000 Air Force) (2023) |
|---|---|
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the TPDF's inventory includes mostly Soviet-era and Chinese equipment; in recent years, China has been the leading supplier of arms and equipment (2023) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 6-year commitment (2-year contracts afterwards); selective conscription for 2 years of public service (2024). |
| Military deployments | 520 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 850 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO; note - the MONUSCO mission is in the process of drawing down forces); 125 Lebanon (UNIFIL); approximately 300 Mozambique (under bi-lateral agreement to assist with combatting an insurgency) (2024). |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2023 | 1.3% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2022 | 1.2% of GDP (2022 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2021 | 1.1% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2020 | 1.2% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2019 | 1.1% of GDP (2019 est.) |
Terrorism
In Tanzania, the different Terrorist group(s) inlcude: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Mozambique (ISIS-M)
All Important Facts about Tanzania
Want to know more about Tanzania? Check all different factbooks for Tanzania below.
