Military profile
United Kingdom Military Strength
United Kingdom ranks #5 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 194,000 active personnel. It spent $89.0 billion on its military in 2025 (2.4% of GDP).
United Kingdom armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 194,000#25 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 37,000#55 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 0#113 of 145
- Army personnel
- 114,100#34 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 40,000#19 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 46,200#15 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 663#16 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 119#20 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 26#25 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 233#16 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 33#20 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 227#57 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 89#41 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 126#59 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 29#63 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 2#2 of 113
- Destroyers
- 6#8 of 113
- Frigates
- 12#8 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 10#11 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 26#38 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 9#15 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $89.0 billion#6 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.4%#45 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $3.00 trillion#8 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
United Kingdom military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of United Kingdom grew by 39% between 2010 and 2025, from $64.0 billion to $89.0 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 2.4% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of United Kingdom
Branches and forces
United Kingdom Armed Forces (aka British Armed Forces, aka His Majesty's Armed Forces): British Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2025)
Personnel
approximately 138,000 Regular Forces (75,000 Army including the Gurkhas; 32,000 Navy including the Royal Marines; 31,000 Air Force) (2025)
Service age and conscription
16 years of age for enlisted ranks (with parental consent for under 18) and 18 years of age for officers; maximum age varies by military service; conscription abolished in 1963 (2026)
Equipment and suppliers
the British military's inventory is comprised of domestically produced armaments and imported Western weapons systems, particularly from the US; the UK defense industry is capable of producing air, land, and sea weapons systems and is one of the world's top weapons suppliers; it also cooperates with other European countries, as well as Australia and the US, in the research and development of weapons systems (2025)
Deployments abroad
the British military has more than 8,000 personnel on permanent or long-term rotational deployments around the globe in support of NATO, UN, or other commitments and agreements; key deployments include approximately 1,000 in Brunei, approximately 2,500 in Cyprus (includes 250 for UNFICYP), approximately 900-1,000 in Estonia (NATO), over 1,000 in the Falkland Islands, 500-600 in Gibraltar, and more than 1,000 in the Middle East; its air and naval forces conduct missions on a global basis; the British military also participates in large scale NATO exercises, including providing some 16,000 personnel for the 6-month 2024 Steadfast Defender exercise (2024)
Good to know
the British military has a long history, a global presence, and a wide range of missions and responsibilities, including protecting the UK, its dependencies and territories, national interests, and values, preventing conflict, providing humanitarian assistance, participating in international peacekeeping, building relationships, and fulfilling the UK’s alliance and treaty commitments; in addition to its role in the UN, the UK is a leading member of NATO the UK is a member of the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; in 2014, the UK led the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a pool of high-readiness military forces from the Baltic and Scandinavian countries intended to respond to a wide range of contingencies both in peacetime and in times of crisis or conflict; the UK military also has strong bilateral ties with a variety of foreign militaries, particularly the US, with which it has a mutual defense treaty; British and US military forces have routinely operated side-by-side across a wide range of operations; other close military relationships include Australia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands; in 2010, for example, France and the UK signed a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), a deployable, combined Anglo-French military force for use in a range of crisis scenarios (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2025: 2.4% · 2024: 2.3% · 2023: 2.3% · 2022: 2.3% · 2021: 2.3%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
United Kingdom compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | #5 | $89.0 billion |
 Ireland | #90 | $1.6 billion |