Military profile
Dominican Republic Military Strength
Dominican Republic ranks #118 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 60,000 active personnel. It spent $1.0 billion on its military in 2025 (0.8% of GDP).
Dominican Republic armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 60,000#63 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 30,000#43 of 145
- Army personnel
- 30,000#86 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 16,100#40 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 11,200#44 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 63#87 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 8#50 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 31#78 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 12#109 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 40#84 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 0#98 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
- 14#65 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $1.0 billion#82 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 0.8%#130 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $185.0 billion#67 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Dominican Republic military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Dominican Republic grew by 192% between 2010 and 2025, from $355 million to $1.0 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 0.8% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Dominican Republic
Branches and forces
Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic: Army of the Dominican Republic (Ejercito de la República Dominicana, ERD), Navy (Armada de República Dominicana or ARD; includes naval infantry), Dominican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de la República Dominicana, FARD) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 55-60,000 Armed Forces; up to 35,000 National Police (2025)
Service age and conscription
17-early 20s for voluntary military service for men and women (ages vary depending on military service and position; under 18 admitted with permission of parents) (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military's equipment inventory comes largely from the US, with smaller quantities from such suppliers as Brazil and Spain (2025)
Good to know
the military is responsible for defending the independence, integrity, and sovereignty of the Dominican Republic; it also has an internal security role, which includes assisting with airport, border, port, tourism, and urban security, supporting the police in maintaining or restoring public order, countering transnational crime, and providing disaster or emergency relief/management; a key area of focus is securing the country's 217-mile (350-kilometer) long border with Haiti, where the Army in recent years has assigned thousands of troops to assist with security; these forces complement the personnel of the Border Security Corps permanently deployed along the border; the Air Force and Navy also provide support to the Haitian border mission; the Army has a brigade dedicated to managing and providing relief during natural disasters; the military also contributes personnel to the National Drug Control Directorate, and both the Air Force and Navy devote assets to detecting and interdicting narcotics trafficking; the Navy conducts regular bilateral maritime interdiction exercises with the US Navy (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.8% · 2023: 0.7% · 2022: 0.7% · 2021: 0.7% · 2020: 0.8%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Dominican Republic compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | #118 | $1.0 billion |
 Haiti | — | $39 million |