Military profile
Cyprus Military Strength
Cyprus is not covered by the Global Firepower ranking. It spent $663 million on its military in 2025 (1.6% of GDP).
Cyprus armed forces in numbers
Finance
- Military spending
- $663 million#91 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.6%#83 of 156
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Cyprus military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Cyprus grew by 39% between 2010 and 2025, from $478 million to $663 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.6% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Cyprus
Branches and forces
Cypriot National Guard (Ethniki Froura, EF): Army, Navy, Air Force (2025)
Personnel
approximately 12-15,000 active Cypriot National Guard (2025)
Service age and conscription
all Cypriot men must complete 14 months of compulsory service upon reaching the age of 18; women may volunteer for 6 months of service at age 18; men and women may also enlist as contract soldiers up to age 42 (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the National Guard's inventory includes a mix of armaments from a variety of suppliers, including Brazil, Israel, Russia, several European countries, and the US (2025)
Good to know
established in 1964, the National Guard (EF) is responsible for ensuring Cyprus’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; its primary focus is Turkey, which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and maintains a large military presence in the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; the majority of the force is deployed along the “Green Line” that separates the Greek Cypriots from the Turkish Cypriots; the EF also participates in some internal missions, such as providing assistance during natural disasters; Greece is its primary security partner and maintains a military presence on Cyprus; the EF has conducted training exercises with other militaries including France, Israel, and the US; since Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, the EF has actively participated in the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and has sent small numbers of personnel to some EU and missions; Cyprus is also part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has been deployed in Cyprus since 1964; its mandate includes supervising the de facto ceasefire that came into effect in August 1974 and maintaining a buffer zone between the lines of the Cypriot National Guard and of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces; UNFICYP has about 1,100 personnel assigned (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1.7% · 2023: 1.8% · 2022: 1.8% · 2021: 1.8% · 2020: 1.8%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).