Introduction
How is the Military in Portugal and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Portuguese Armed Forces (Forças Armadas Portuguesa): Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps, aka Corpo de Fuzileiros or Corps of Fusiliers), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP)
Ministry of Internal Administration: Foreigners and Borders Service, Public Security Service, National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) (2024).
Ministry of Internal Administration: Foreigners and Borders Service, Public Security Service, National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) (2024).
In Portugal, the Portuguese military is an all-volunteer force with the primary responsibilities of external defense, humanitarian operations, and fulfilling Portugal’s commitments to European and international security; maritime security has long been a key component of the military's portfolio, and Portugal has one of the world's oldest navies
Portugal was one of the original signers of the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949 establishing NATO, and the Alliance forms a key pillar of Portugal’s defense policy; Portugal is also a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy, and it regularly participates in a variety of EU, NATO, and UN deployments around the world; the military’s largest commitments include air, ground, and naval forces under NATO-led missions and standing task forces in the Baltics, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea; the military also participates regularly in exercises with NATO partners (2024)
Portugal was one of the original signers of the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949 establishing NATO, and the Alliance forms a key pillar of Portugal’s defense policy; Portugal is also a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy, and it regularly participates in a variety of EU, NATO, and UN deployments around the world; the military’s largest commitments include air, ground, and naval forces under NATO-led missions and standing task forces in the Baltics, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea; the military also participates regularly in exercises with NATO partners (2024)
Security and military information of Portugal
| Military and security service personnel strengths | approximately 28,000 active-duty personnel (15,000 Army; 7,000 Navy, including about 1,000 marines; 6,000 Air Force); 24,500 National Republican Guard (military personnel) (2024) |
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| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the military's inventory includes mostly European- and US-origin weapons systems along with a smaller mix of domestically produced equipment; in recent years, leading foreign suppliers have included Germany and the US; Portugal's defense industry is noted for its shipbuilding (2024) |
| 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 but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; contract service lasts for an initial period of 2-6 years, and can be extended to a maximum of 20 years of service; initial voluntary military service lasts 12 months; reserve obligation to age 35 (2023). note: as of 2023, women made up about 14% of the military's full-time personnel |
| Military deployments | the Portuguese Armed Forces have more than 1,100 military personnel deployed around the world engaged in missions supporting the EU, NATO, the UN, and partner nations; key deployments include 225 troops in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), approximately 220 in Lithuania (NATO), and approximately 150 in Romania (NATO); it also participates in NATO air policing and maritime patrolling operations (2024). |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2024 | 1.6% of GDP (2024 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2023 | 1.5% of GDP (2023) |
| Military Expenditures 2022 | 1.4% of GDP (2022 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2021 | 1.5% of GDP (2021) |
| Military Expenditures 2020 | 1.4% of GDP (2020) |
Terrorism
In Portugal, the different Terrorist group(s) inlcude: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)
All Important Facts about Portugal
Want to know more about Portugal? Check all different factbooks for Portugal below.
