Military profile
Jordan Military Strength
Jordan ranks #81 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 90,000 active personnel. It spent $2.6 billion on its military in 2025 (4.6% of GDP).
Jordan armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 90,000#49 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 65,000#38 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 15,000#53 of 145
- Army personnel
- 140,000#29 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 14,000#47 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 700#94 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 256#37 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 44#41 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 4#57 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 131#28 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 44#15 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 1,588#18 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 461#17 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 84#69 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 88#41 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
- 27#37 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $2.6 billion#62 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 4.6%#12 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $100.2 billion#85 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Jordan military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Jordan grew by 64% between 2010 and 2025, from $1.6 billion to $2.6 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 4.6% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Jordan
Branches and forces
Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; aka Arab Army): Jordanian Army (Jordanian Ground Forces; includes Special Operations Forces, Border Guards, Royal Guard), Jordanian Air Force, Jordanian Navy) Ministry of Interior: Public Security Directorate (includes national police, the Gendarmerie, and the Civil Defense Directorate) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 100,000 active duty Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
17 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; initial service term is 24 months; selective compulsory military service (3 months) for men turning 18 will be reinstated in 2026; compulsory military service for jobless men aged 25-29 was reinstated in 2020 (12 months; 3 months of military training and 9 months of professional and technical training) (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the JAF inventory is comprised of mostly older or secondhand equipment provided by China, some European countries, select Gulf States, Russia, and the US (2025)
Deployments abroad
140 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (2025)
Good to know
the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) are responsible for territorial defense and border security and have a supporting role for internal security; key areas of concern include regional conflict and instability and unconventional threats, such as terrorism and weapons smuggling; the JAF participates in both bilateral and multinational exercises, UN peacekeeping missions, and have taken part in regional military operations alongside international forces in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen the US is a key security partner, and Jordan is one of the largest recipients of US military aid in the region; it cooperates with the US on a number of issues, including border security, arms transfers, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism; Jordan has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 4.5% · 2023: 4.5% · 2022: 4.8% · 2021: 5% · 2020: 5%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Jordan compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan | #81 | $2.6 billion |
 Saudi Arabia | #22 | $83.2 billion |
 Syria | #64 | — |
 Israel | #18 | $48.3 billion |
 Iraq | #45 | $6.4 billion |