Military profile
Belize Military Strength
Belize ranks #139 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 2,000 active personnel. It spent $33 million on its military in 2025 (1.0% of GDP).
Belize armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 2,000#139 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 1,000#83 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 0#113 of 145
- Army personnel
- 1,500#140 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 0#138 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 0#113 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 2#137 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 1#135 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 0#115 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 0#107 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 1#97 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 0#56 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 10#74 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $33 million#147 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.0%#115 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $2.5 billion#145 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Belize military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Belize grew by 117% between 2010 and 2025, from $15 million to $33 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.0% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Belize
Branches and forces
Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Air Wing; Belize Coast Guard (BCG) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 1,500 BDF personnel (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-23 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient, but conscription has never been implemented; initial service obligation is 12 years (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military has a small inventory consisting mostly of UK- and US-origin equipment (2025)
Good to know
the Belize Defense Force (BDF) is responsible for external security but also provides some support to civilian authorities; it has limited powers of arrest within land and shoreline areas, while the Coast Guard has arrest powers and jurisdiction within coastal and maritime areas; the BDF traces its history back to the Prince Regent Royal Honduras Militia, a volunteer force established in 1817; the BDF was established in 1978 from the disbanded Police Special Force and the Belize Volunteer Guard to assist the resident British forces with the defense of Belize against Guatemala the British Army has maintained a presence in Belize since its independence; the presence consists of a small training support unit that provides jungle training to troops from the UK and international partners (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1% · 2023: 0.9% · 2022: 1.1% · 2021: 1.3% · 2020: 1.5%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Mexico
Guatemala