Military profile
Lebanon Military Strength
Lebanon ranks #111 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 80,000 active personnel. It spent $828 million on its military in 2025 (2.5% of GDP).
Lebanon armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 80,000#53 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 25,000#46 of 145
- Army personnel
- 60,000#59 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 2,500#99 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 1,700#82 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 78#82 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 9#48 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 60#56 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 361#43 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 84#42 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 374#29 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 30#60 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
- 22#44 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $828 million#87 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.5%#40 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $80.0 billion#93 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Lebanon military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Lebanon fell by 48% between 2010 and 2025, from $1.6 billion to $828 million (current US dollars), and stood at 2.5% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Lebanon
Branches and forces
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army Command (includes Presidential Guard Brigade, Land Border Regiments), Naval Forces, Air Forces Ministry of Interior: General Directorate of Internal Security Forces (law enforcement; includes Mobile Gendarmerie), General Directorate for Public Security (border control, some domestic security duties) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 70,000 active Lebanese Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2026)
Equipment and suppliers
the LAF's inventory is comprised of mostly older or secondhand equipment from an array of countries, such as France, Germany, Russia, and especially the US (2025)
Good to know
the primary responsibilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are defense against external attack, border security, protecting the country’s territorial waters, and assisting with internal security and development projects the LAF’s domestic security responsibilities include countering narcotics trafficking and smuggling, managing protests, conducting search and rescue, and intervening to prevent violence between rival political factions; in recent years, the military has faced a financial crisis as government debt and national economic difficulties have undercut its ability to train and fully pay and supply personnel; the UN, as well as individual countries such as France, Qatar, and the US have provided financial assistance the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has operated in the southern part of the country since 1978; it has approximately 10,500 personnel assigned and includes a maritime task force; the terrorist group Hizballah maintains thousands of fighters and militia in Lebanon, primarily in the south (see Terrorist Organizations in References) (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2022: 2.9% · 2021: 3.2% · 2020: 3% · 2019: 4.7% · 2018: 5.1%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Syria
Israel