Military profile
Ireland Military Strength
Ireland ranks #90 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 8,700 active personnel. It spent $1.6 billion on its military in 2025 (0.2% of GDP).
Ireland armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 8,700#128 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 4,000#79 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 0#113 of 145
- Army personnel
- 7,500#122 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 755#116 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 900#92 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 23#111 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 8#119 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 0#115 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 0#107 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
- 5#89 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $1.6 billion#72 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 0.2%#151 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $448.0 billion#44 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Ireland military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Ireland grew by 22% between 2010 and 2025, from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 0.2% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Ireland
Branches and forces
Irish Defense Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireannn): Army, Air Corps, Naval Service, Reserve Defense Forces (2025)
Personnel
approximately 7,500 active-duty Defense Forces (authorized establishment of 9,500) (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-38 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service (2026)
Equipment and suppliers
the Irish Defense Forces have an inventory of imported weapons systems from a variety of mostly European countries (2025)
Deployments abroad
330 Lebanon (UNIFIL); also contributes small numbers of troops to EU, NATO, and other UN missions (2025)
Good to know
the Irish Defense Forces (IDF) are responsible for external defense, assisting civil authorities upon request, participating in multinational peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, and providing for maritime security; the IDF traces its origins back to the Irish Volunteers, a unit established in 1913 which took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) Ireland has a long-standing policy of military neutrality; however, Ireland is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and has committed a battalion of troops to the EU’s Rapid Reaction Force; Ireland is not a member of NATO but has a relationship with it going back to 1997, when it deployed personnel in support of the NATO-led peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ireland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1999; it has been active in UN peacekeeping operations since the 1950s (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.2% · 2023: 0.2% · 2022: 0.3% · 2021: 0.3% · 2020: 0.3%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Ireland compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | #90 | $1.6 billion |
 United Kingdom | #5 | $89.0 billion |