Military profile
Lithuania Military Strength
Lithuania ranks #93 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 16,000 active personnel. It spent $3.0 billion on its military in 2025 (3.1% of GDP).
Lithuania armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 16,000#107 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 15,000#64 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 11,000#64 of 145
- Army personnel
- 10,000#111 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 1,500#104 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 700#94 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 10#127 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 5#127 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 0#115 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 21#73 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 54#79 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
- 4#93 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 4#32 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $3.0 billion#56 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 3.1%#30 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $100.0 billion#86 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Lithuania military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Lithuania grew by 805% between 2010 and 2025, from $326 million to $3.0 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 3.1% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Lithuania
Branches and forces
Lithuanian Armed Forces (Lietuvos Ginkluotosios Pajegos): Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF), Lithuanian Navy, Lithuanian Air Force (LTAF), Lithuanian Special Operations Forces (LITHSOF); National Defense Volunteer Forces (2025)
Personnel
approximately 20,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)
Service age and conscription
19-26 years of age for conscripted military service for men; 9-month service obligation; 18-38 for voluntary service for men and women; 18-60 for the National Defense Volunteer Services (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military's inventory is a mix of mostly European and US armaments (2025)
Deployments abroad
note: contributes about 350-550 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units; units affiliated with the multinational brigade remain within the structures of the armed forces of their respective countries until the brigade is activated for participation in an international operation
Good to know
the Lithuanian Armed Forces are responsible for the defense of the country’s interests, sovereignty, and territory, fulfilling Lithuania’s commitments to NATO and European security, and contributing to UN international peacekeeping efforts; Russia is Lithuania’s primary security focus, which has only increased since the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022; Lithuania has been a member of NATO since 2004 and is reliant on the Alliance as the country’s security guarantor; it is actively engaged in both NATO and EU security, as well as bilaterally with allies such as the other Baltic States, Germany, Poland, the UK, Ukraine, and the US; the Lithuanian military has participated in NATO and EU missions abroad and regularly conducts training and exercises with NATO and EU partner forces; it hosts NATO forces, is a member of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, and contributes troops to a multinational brigade with Poland and Ukraine; Lithuania participated in its first UN peacekeeping mission in 1994 since 2017, Lithuania has hosted a German-led multinational NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative; NATO has also provided air protection for Lithuania since 2004 through its Baltic Air Policing mission; NATO fighter aircraft are hosted at Lithuania’s Šiauliai Air Base (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2025: 4% · 2024: 3.1% · 2023: 2.7% · 2022: 2.4% · 2021: 2%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Belarus
Latvia
Russia
Poland