Military profile
Bangladesh Military Strength
Bangladesh ranks #40 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 165,000 active personnel. It spent $3.8 billion on its military in 2025 (0.8% of GDP).
Bangladesh armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 165,000#32 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 6,800,000#1 of 145
- Army personnel
- 175,000#22 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 21,100#31 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 30,000#23 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 204#47 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 44#41 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 65#50 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 281#49 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 30#66 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 370#30 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 70#47 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 7#22 of 113
- Corvettes
- 6#16 of 113
- Submarines
- 2#34 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 30#35 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 5#26 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $3.8 billion#53 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 0.8%#129 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $800.0 billion#30 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Bangladesh military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Bangladesh grew by 136% between 2010 and 2025, from $1.6 billion to $3.8 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 0.8% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Bangladesh
Branches and forces
Armed Forces of Bangladesh (aka Bangladesh Defense Force): Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force Ministry of Home Affairs: Bangladesh Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Bangladesh Coast Guard, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Ansars, Village Defense Party (VDP) (2025)
Personnel
information varies; approximately 170,000 active Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
varies by service, but generally 17-23 for voluntary military service; length of service also varies (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
much of the military's inventory is comprised of Chinese- and Russian-origin equipment, but in recent years suppliers have expanded to include Germany, Turkey, the UK, and the US (2025)
Deployments abroad
approximately 1,400 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,700 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO; plus about 200 police); 120 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 1,600 South Sudan (UNMISS); 500 Sudan (UNISFA) (2024)
Good to know
the military’s primary responsibility is external defense but it also has a domestic security role; following widespread domestic protests in September 2024, the Army was given law enforcement powers, including making arrests, conducting searches, and dispersing unlawful assemblies; the military has traditionally been a significant player in the country's politics and has commercial business interests in such areas as banking, food, hotels, manufacturing, real estate, and shipbuilding, and manages government infrastructure and construction projects the military has a long history of participating in UN peacekeeping missions, which has provided operational experience and a source of funding; it runs an international institute for the training of peacekeepers; the military also conducts multinational and bilateral exercises with foreign partners, particularly India (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.9% · 2023: 1% · 2022: 1.1% · 2021: 1.2% · 2020: 1.3%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
India
Myanmar