Military profile
El Salvador Military Strength
El Salvador ranks #127 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 21,000 active personnel. It spent $490 million on its military in 2025 (1.3% of GDP).
El Salvador armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 21,000#99 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 10,000#72 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 15,000#53 of 145
- Army personnel
- 14,200#104 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 5,000#73 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 2,500#75 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 46#92 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 13#41 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 28#81 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 0#115 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 70#74 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
- 3#96 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $490 million#105 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.3%#96 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $52.0 billion#106 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
El Salvador military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of El Salvador grew by 144% between 2010 and 2025, from $201 million to $490 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.3% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of El Salvador
Branches and forces
The Armed Forces of El Salvador (La Fuerza Armada de El Salvador, FAES): Army of El Salvador (Ejercito de El Salvador, ES), Naval Force of El Salvador (Fuerza Naval de El Salvador, FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, FAS) Ministry of Justice and Public Safety: National Civil Police (Policia Nacional Civil, PNC) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 25,000 active FAES (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (17-22 for military schools); men are subject to selective compulsory military service; service obligation up to 18 months (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the FAES is lightly armed with an inventory of mostly older or secondhand arms and equipment, largely provided by the US (2025)
Good to know
the Armed Force of El Salvador (FAES) is responsible for defending national sovereignty and ensuring territorial integrity but also has considerable domestic security responsibilities; while the National Civil Police (PNC) are responsible for maintaining public security, the country’s constitution allows the president to use the FAES “in exceptional circumstances” to maintain internal peace and public security; in 2016, the government created a special joint unit of Army commandos and police to fight criminal gangs; more military personnel were devoted to internal security beginning in 2019 when President BUKELE signed a decree authorizing military involvement in police duties to combat rising gang violence, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking, as well as assisting with border security the military led the country for much of the 20th century; from 1980 to 1992, it fought a bloody civil war against guerrillas from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front or FMLN, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Revolutionary Front (Frente Democrático Revolucionario), a coalition of left-wing dissident political groups backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union; the FAES received considerable US support during the conflict; significant human rights violations occurred during the war and approximately 75,000 Salvadorans, mostly civilians, were killed (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1.2% · 2023: 1.2% · 2022: 1.3% · 2021: 1.2% · 2020: 1.4%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
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