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Serbia

Republika Srbija

Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)

Military - note

the Serbian military is responsible for defense and deterrence against external threats, supporting international peacekeeping operations, and providing support to civil authorities for internal security; specific areas of concerns for the military include ethnic and religious extremism, separatism, and deepening international recognition of Kosovo; Serbia has cooperated with NATO since 2006, when it joined the Partnership for Peace program, and the military trains with NATO countries, particularly other Balkan states; Serbia has participated in EU peacekeeping missions, as well as missions under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the UN; it traditionally has maintained close security ties with Russia and has a growing security relationship with China the modern Serbian military was established in 2006 but traces its origins back through World War II, World War I, the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, and the Bulgarian-Serb War of 1885 to the First (1804-1813) and Second (1815-1817) Uprisings against the Ottoman Empire (2025)

Military deployments

180 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2025)

Military expenditures

Military Expenditures 2020

2% of GDP (2020 est.)

Military Expenditures 2021

2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

Military Expenditures 2022

2.2% of GDP (2022 est.)

Military Expenditures 2023

2.4% of GDP (2023 est.)

Military Expenditures 2024

2.5% of GDP (2024 est.)

Military and security forces

Serbian Armed Forces (Vojska Srbije, VS): Army (aka Land Forces; includes Riverine Component, consisting of a naval flotilla on the Danube), Air and Air Defense Forces, Serbian Guard Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs: Police Directorate (2025)

note: the Serbian Guard is a brigade-sized unit that is directly subordinate to the Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff; its duties include safeguarding key defense facilities and rendering military honors to top foreign, state, and military officials 

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished in 2011 (2025)

note: as of 2024, women made up about 11% of the military's full-time personnel

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory consists of a mix of Soviet/Cold War-era and some more modern weapons systems from suppliers such as China, France, and Russia; Serbia has a defense industry focused on armored vehicles, artillery systems, and munitions (2025)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 25,000 active-duty Armed Forces (15,000 Land Forces; 5,000 Air/Air Defense; 5,000 other, including Serbian Guard) (2025)