Military profile
Uruguay Military Strength
Uruguay ranks #96 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 22,000 active personnel. It spent $2.0 billion on its military in 2025 (2.3% of GDP).
Uruguay armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 22,000#97 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 1,500#104 of 145
- Army personnel
- 17,000#99 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 3,000#93 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 6,000#57 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 52#89 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 7#52 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 12#109 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 17#108 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 6#91 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 64#75 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 4#95 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 1#49 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 3#96 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 2#41 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $2.0 billion#66 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.3%#48 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $75.1 billion#95 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Uruguay military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Uruguay grew by 159% between 2010 and 2025, from $756 million to $2.0 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 2.3% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Uruguay
Branches and forces
Armed Forces of Uruguay (Fuerzas Armadas del Uruguay or FF.AA. del Uruguay): National Army, National Navy (includes Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval or PRENA)), Uruguayan Air Force Ministry of Interior: National Police (2025)
Personnel
approximately 23,000 active-duty Armed Forces (15,000 Army; 5,000 Navy; 3,000 Air Force) (2025)
Service age and conscription
generally 18-30 years of age (up to 22 for the Navy and up to 40 for some specialist positions) for voluntary military service for men and women; initial 24-month service obligation (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military's inventory includes a variety of mostly older or secondhand equipment originating from a range of suppliers, including Brazil, Germany, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Korea, and the US (2025)
Deployments abroad
630 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 210 Golan Heights (UNDOF) (2025)
Good to know
the armed forces are responsible for defense of the country's independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as protecting strategic resources; it has some domestic responsibilities, including perimeter security for a number of prisons, border security, and providing humanitarian/disaster assistance; it also assists the Ministry of Interior in combating narcotics trafficking; the military participates in UN peacekeeping missions and multinational exercises with foreign partners; Uruguay traditionally has held security ties with Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and the US; since 2018, it has also signed defense cooperation agreements with China and Russia (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 2.1% · 2023: 2% · 2022: 2% · 2021: 2.3% · 2020: 2%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Brazil
Argentina