Military profile
Bolivia Military Strength
Bolivia ranks #77 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 60,000 active personnel. It spent $688 million on its military in 2025 (1.2% of GDP).
Bolivia armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 60,000#63 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 40,000#51 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 0#113 of 145
- Army personnel
- 55,000#60 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 22,000#30 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 5,000#61 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 64#85 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 28#81 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 36#102 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 100#65 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 0#98 of 145
Finance
- Military spending
- $688 million#90 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.2%#104 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $95.0 billion#87 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Bolivia military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Bolivia grew by 26% between 2010 and 2025, from $547 million to $688 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.2% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Bolivia
Branches and forces
Bolivian Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia or FAB): Bolivian Army (Ejercito de Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) Ministry of Government: National Police (Policía Nacional de Bolivia, PNB) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 30-35,000 active-duty Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
voluntary service for men and women 18-22 years of age; selective 12-month compulsory service for men, 18-22 (24 months of search and rescue service can be substituted for military service) (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military is equipped with a mix of mostly older Brazilian, Chinese, European, and US armaments (2025)
Good to know
the Bolivian Armed Forces (FAB) are responsible for territorial defense but also have some internal security duties, particularly counternarcotics and border security; the FAB shares responsibility for border enforcement with the National Police (PNB), and it may be called out to assist the PNB with maintaining public order in critical situations land-locked Bolivia has a naval force for patrolling some 5,000 miles of navigable rivers to combat narcotics trafficking and smuggling, provide disaster relief, and deliver supplies to remote rural areas, as well as for maintaining a presence on Lake Titicaca; the Navy also exists in part to cultivate a maritime tradition and as a reminder of Bolivia’s defeat at the hands of Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883), and its desire to regain access to the Pacific Ocean; every year on 23 March, the Navy participates in parades and government ceremonies commemorating the Día Del Mar (Day of the Sea) holiday that remembers the loss (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1.2% · 2023: 1.2% · 2022: 1.3% · 2021: 1.4% · 2020: 1.4%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Brazil
Peru
Argentina
Chile
Paraguay