Military profile
Iraq Military Strength
Iraq ranks #45 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 200,000 active personnel. It spent $6.4 billion on its military in 2025 (2.4% of GDP).
Iraq armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 200,000#22 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 130,000#18 of 145
- Army personnel
- 180,000#19 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 10,000#58 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 3,000#69 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 361#31 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 26#56 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 33#19 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 164#25 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 40#17 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 923#24 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 281#21 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 1,426#13 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 424#16 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 0#56 of 113
- Corvettes
- 2#32 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 26#38 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $6.4 billion#40 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.4%#43 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $372.3 billion#49 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Iraq military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Iraq grew by 72% between 2010 and 2025, from $3.8 billion to $6.4 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 2.4% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Iraq
Branches and forces
Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army, Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force Office of the Prime Minister: Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS); Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC) Ministry of Interior: Federal Police Forces Command, Border Guard Forces Command, Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, Emergency Response Division, Facilities Protection Directorate, and Provincial Police; Ministry of Oil: Energy Police Directorate (2025)
Personnel
estimated 200,000 active armed forces personnel under the Ministry of Defense (Army, Aviation Command, Air/Air Defense, Navy, Special Forces); approximately 20-25,000 National-Level Security Forces Ministry of Peshmerga: estimated 150,000 active personnel Popular Mobilization Forces: estimated 200,000 militia (2025)
Service age and conscription
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the Iraqi military's inventory includes a mix of European, Russian, Soviet-era, and US armaments (2025)
Good to know
the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are primarily focused on internal and border security; they are actively conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq; the operations include securing the border with Syria; the Kurdish Security Forces, as well as are also active in conducting operations against ISIS two international military task forces operate in Iraq to assist the country's security forces at the request of the Iraqi Government; in 2018, NATO established an advisory, training and capacity-building mission for the Iraqi military known as the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI); in December 2021, the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) transitioned from a combat role to an advise, assist, and enable role (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 2.5% · 2023: 2.5% · 2022: 1.8% · 2021: 3% · 2020: 3.2%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Türkiye
Kuwait
Jordan