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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)

Military - note

the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) are responsible for territorial defense, providing assistance to civil authorities during disasters or other emergencies, and participating in collective security and peace support operations; each of the AFBiH's three combat brigades are headquartered inside of their respective ethnicity territory, while its main headquarters is in Sarajevo; Bosnia and Herzegovina aspires to join NATO; Bosnia and Herzegovina joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 2006 and was invited to join NATO’s Membership Action Plan in 2010; the AFBiH is undergoing a 10-year (2017-2027) defense modernization and reform program for preparing to join and integrate with NATO; it has contributed small numbers of troops to EU, NATO, and UN missions NATO maintains a military headquarters in Sarajevo with the mission of assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina with the PfP program and promoting closer integration with NATO, as well as providing logistics and other support to the EU Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), which has operated in the country to oversee implementation of the Dayton/Paris Agreement since taking over from NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) in 2004 (2025)

Military expenditures

Military Expenditures 2020

0.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Military Expenditures 2021

0.9% of GDP (2021 est.)

Military Expenditures 2022

0.8% of GDP (2022 est.)

Military Expenditures 2023

0.8% of GDP (2023 est.)

Military Expenditures 2024

0.8% of GDP (2024 est.)

Military and security forces

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH or Oruzanih Snaga Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH): Army, Air, Air Defense forces organized into an Operations Command and a Support Command Ministry of Security: Border Police (2025)

Military service age and obligation

18 -27 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription ended in January 2006 (2025)

note: as of 2024, women made up about 9% of the military's full-time personnel

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory of weapons and equipment is a combination of material originating from the former Soviet Union/former Yugoslavia and some newer acquisitions from suppliers such as Türkiye, the UK, and the US (2025)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 10,000 active duty Armed Forces (2025)