Military profile
Egypt Military Strength
Egypt ranks #14 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 440,000 active personnel. It spent $2.5 billion on its military in 2025 (0.6% of GDP).
Egypt armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 440,000#10 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 480,000#11 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 300,000#9 of 145
- Army personnel
- 685,000#6 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 50,000#10 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 32,500#21 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 1,069#8 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 245#10 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 88#8 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 325#10 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 92#7 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 4,664#5 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 1,489#5 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 2,189#7 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 1,575#6 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 13#5 of 113
- Corvettes
- 7#10 of 113
- Submarines
- 8#14 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 48#18 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 23#3 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $2.5 billion#63 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 0.6%#138 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $1.22 trillion#19 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Egypt military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Egypt fell by 43% between 2010 and 2025, from $4.4 billion to $2.5 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 0.6% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Egypt
Branches and forces
Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF): Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Coast Guard), Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Border Guard Forces Interior Ministry: Public Security Sector Police, the Central Security Force, National Security Agency (2025)
Personnel
estimated 450,000 active Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
voluntary enlistment possible from age 16 for men and 17 for women; 18-30 years of age for compulsory service for men; service obligation 14-36 months, followed by a 9-year reserve obligation; active service length depends on education; high school drop-outs serve for the full 36 months, while college graduates serve for lesser periods of time, depending on their education level (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the EAF's inventory is comprised of a mix of domestically produced, Soviet-era, and more modern, typically Western, weapons systems; in recent years, the EAF has embarked on an equipment modernization program with purchases from foreign suppliers, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, UAE, the UK, and the US; Egypt's defense industry produces a range of products from small arms to armored vehicles and naval vessels; it also has licensed and co-production agreements with several countries, including Germany and the US (2025)
Deployments abroad
775 (plus nearly 200 police) Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,100 Somalia (AUSSOM); also has about 200 police deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo under MONUSCO (2025)
Good to know
the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) are responsible for external defense but also have an internal role assisting police and paramilitary security forces during emergencies and in anti-terrorism operations; the EAF also participates in foreign peacekeeping and other security missions, as well as both bilateral and multinational exercises; the military has considerable political power and independence; it has long had a crucial role in Egypt’s politics and has a large stake in the civilian economy, including running banks, businesses, gas stations, shipping lines, and utilities, and producing consumer and industrial goods, importing commodities, and building and managing infrastructure projects, such as bridges, roads, hospitals, and housing key areas of concern for the EAF include Islamist militant groups operating out of the Sinai Peninsula, regional challenges such as ongoing conflicts and instability, and maritime security; since 2011, the EAF has been conducting operations alongside other security forces in the North Sinai governorate against several militant groups, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); over the past decade, it has deployed additional units along the border with Libya, provided air support to the Saudi-led coalition's intervention in Yemen, and most recently boosted its presence on the border with Gaza in response to the HAMAS-Israel conflict; the Navy in recent years has sought to modernize and expand its capabilities and profile in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea, including the acquisition of helicopter carriers, modern frigates, and attack submarines, as well as the establishment of a joint service military base on the Red Sea the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) has operated in the Sinai since 1982 as a peacekeeping and monitoring force to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace; the MFO is an independent international organization, created by agreement between Egypt and Israel; it has about 1,150 troops from 13 countries; Colombia, Fiji, and the US are the leading providers of troops to the MFO (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.7% · 2023: 1% · 2022: 1.2% · 2021: 1.3% · 2020: 1.3%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Sudan
Libya
Israel