Military profile
Venezuela Military Strength
Venezuela ranks #52 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 137,500 active personnel.
Venezuela armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 137,500#35 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 30,000#58 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 1,600,000#3 of 145
- Army personnel
- 115,000#33 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 20,000#32 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 23,000#29 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 250#38 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 44#41 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 59#60 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 10#47 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 352#44 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 73#45 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 104#64 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 36#59 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 2#42 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 2#34 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 31#32 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $265.0 billion#56 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Venezuela military spending 2010–2017
Military spending of Venezuela fell by 47% between 2010 and 2017, from $4.0 billion to $2.1 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 2.2% of GDP in 2017.
Armed forces of Venezuela
Branches and forces
Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, FANB): Bolivarian Army (Ejercito Bolivariano, EB), Bolivarian Navy (Armada Bolivariana, AB; includes marines, Coast Guard), Bolivarian Military Aviation (Aviacion Militar Bolivariana, AMB), Bolivarian Militia (Milicia Bolivariana), Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivaria, GNB), Presidential Honor Guard Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace: Bolivarian National Police (Policía Nacional Bolivariana, PNB) (2025)
Personnel
information varies; approximately 125-150,000 active Armed Forces; estimated 200,000 Bolivarian Militia (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-30 (25 for women) for voluntary service; the minimum service obligation is 24-30 months; 17-39 for Militia service; all citizens of military service age (18-50) are obligated to register for military service and subject to military training (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the FANB inventory is a mix of mostly older and some more modern armaments from a variety of foreign suppliers, including China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Russia/former Soviet Union, Spain, the UK, and the US (2025)
Good to know
the armed forces (FANB) are responsible for ensuring Venezuela’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; they also have a domestic role, including assisting with maintaining internal security, conducting counter-narcotics missions, contributing to national socio-economic development, and providing disaster relief/humanitarian assistance; the military has been deployed against illegal armed groups operating in the Colombian border region and other areas to combat organized crime gangs involved in narcotics trafficking and illegal mining; it has ties with the militaries of China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia the FANB has a role in the country’s economy and political sectors; military officers hold key positions in state-owned companies, government ministries, and funding agencies; the FANB runs corporation involved in agriculture, banking, communications, energy, insurance, mining, and transportation (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 0.6% · 2023: 0.5% · 2022: 0.6% · 2021: 0.3% · 2020: 1.6%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Colombia
Brazil
Guyana