Military profile
Honduras Military Strength
Honduras ranks #92 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 16,000 active personnel. It spent $580 million on its military in 2025 (1.5% of GDP).
Honduras armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 16,000#107 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 60,000#42 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 23,000#49 of 145
- Army personnel
- 50,000#62 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 16,500#39 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 5,300#60 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 43#96 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 4#90 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 9#48 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 8#119 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 22#105 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 56#77 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
- 60#11 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $580 million#100 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.5%#90 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $50.0 billion#107 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Honduras military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Honduras grew by 241% between 2010 and 2025, from $170 million to $580 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.5% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Honduras
Branches and forces
Honduran Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, FFAA): Army (Ejercito), Honduran Naval Force (Fuerza Naval Hondurena, FNH; includes marines), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH), Honduran Military Police of Public Order (Policía Militar del Orden Público or PMOP) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 15,000 active Honduran Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-22 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 24–36 month service obligation; no conscription (2026)
Equipment and suppliers
the FFAA's inventory is comprised of a mix of older or secondhand and limited amounts of more modern equipment; its main supplier is the US; other suppliers include Colombia, Israel, the Netherlands, and the UK (2025)
Good to know
the Honduran Armed Forces (FFAA) are responsible for maintaining the country’s territory, defending its sovereignty, providing emergency/humanitarian assistance, and supporting the National Police (PNH); the FFAA’s primary focus is internal and border security, and since 2011 a considerable portion of it has been deployed to support the PNH in combating narcotics trafficking and organized crime; military support to domestic security included the creation of the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) in 2013 to provide security in areas controlled by street gangs to combat crime and make arrests; the FFAA, including the PMOP, cooperates with the militaries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua on border security the FFAA has received military equipment, training, humanitarian, and technical assistance from the US military; the US military maintains a joint service task force co-located with the FFAA at Soto Cano Air Base (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1.5% · 2023: 1.5% · 2022: 1.4% · 2021: 1.5% · 2020: 1.6%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Honduras compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Honduras | #92 | $580 million |
 Nicaragua | #117 | $116 million |
 El Salvador | #127 | $490 million |
 Guatemala | #102 | $633 million |