Military profile
Mongolia Military Strength
Mongolia ranks #99 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 35,000 active personnel. It spent $221 million on its military in 2025 (0.9% of GDP).
Mongolia armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 35,000#76 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 135,000#30 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 10,000#66 of 145
- Army personnel
- 30,500#85 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 1,500#104 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 0#113 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 11#125 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 6#125 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 470#33 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 300#38 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 130#35 of 145
Finance
- Military spending
- $221 million#124 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 0.9%#124 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $37.6 billion#121 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Mongolia military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Mongolia grew by 303% between 2010 and 2025, from $55 million to $221 million (current US dollars), and stood at 0.9% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Mongolia
Branches and forces
Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF): Land Force, Air Force, Cyber Security Forces, Special Forces, Construction-Engineering Forces (2025)
Personnel
information varies; estimated 10-20,000 active Mongolian Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-25 years of age for voluntary service for men and women; initial service 24 months; compulsory service for men at 18; service obligation is 12 months in the military or police, which can be extended to 15 months under special circumstances; compulsory service can be exchanged for a 24‐month stint in the civil service or a cash payment determined by the Mongolian Government; after conscription, soldiers can contract into military service for up to 4 years (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the MAF's inventory is comprised largely of Soviet-era and secondhand Russian equipment (2025)
Deployments abroad
850 South Sudan (UNMISS) (2025)
Good to know
the Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) are responsible for ensuring the country's independence, security, and territorial integrity, as well as supporting Mongolia's developmental goals and diplomacy; it has a range of missions, including counterterrorism, international peacekeeping duties, and assisting the internal security forces in providing emergency aid and disaster relief; Mongolia hosts an annual international peacekeeping exercise known as “Khaan Quest”; it has no formal military alliances, but has defense ties and conducts training exercises with several regional countries and others, such as China, India, Russia, and the US Mongolia actively cooperates with NATO on issues such as counterterrorism, nonproliferation, and cybersecurity through an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program; it supported the NATO-led Kosovo Force from 2005-2007 and contributed troops to the NATO-led missions in Afghanistan from 2009-2021; Mongolia also is an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.7% · 2023: 0.6% · 2022: 0.6% · 2021: 0.8% · 2020: 0.8%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
China
Russia