Defence spending
US$181.58m
8.8% of GDPGDP 2011
2003 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
FORCETALLY
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Eastern Africa · Military profile
Eritrea country profile with source-backed equipment operators and dated national observations. The linked records retain their published sources and reference years.
01 / National data
Military, personnel and economic indicators
2003 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
56 matching equipment types
| Equipment | Eritrea |
|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | |
| Mikoyan MiG-29 | 4Air Force · 2025 |
| Sukhoi Su-27 | 1Air Force · 2025 2Eritrean Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Support aircraft | |
| Beechcraft King Air | 12024 |
| Beechcraft Super King Air | 1Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Harbin Y-12 | 4Air Force · 2025 4Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Helicopters | |
| Bell 412 | 1Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mil Mi-17 | 6Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mil Mi-24 | 2Air Force · 2025 6Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mil Mi-8 | In service |
| Equipment | Eritrea |
|---|---|
| Tanks | |
| Chonma-ho | In service |
| T-54/T-55 | 270Army · 2025 270Eritrean Army · 2025 |
| Armoured vehicles | |
| BMP-1 | 15Army · 2025 15Eritrean Army · 2025 |
| BRDM-1 | In service |
| BRDM-2 | 402024Wikipedia |
| BTR-152 | 252024Wikipedia |
| BTR-60 | 252024Wikipedia |
| MT-LB | 102024Wikipedia |
| Artillery | |
| 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) | In service |
| 2S1 Gvozdika | 32Army · 2025 32Eritrean Army · 2025 |
| 2S5 Giatsint-S | 13Army · 2025 13Eritrean Army · 2025 |
| 85 mm divisional gun D-44 | In service |
| Equipment | Eritrea |
|---|---|
| Air defence | |
| ZSU-23-4 Shilka | 32024Wikipedia |
| Anti-aircraft guns | |
| AZP S-60 | In service |
| ZU-23-2 | 62024Wikipedia |
| Portable air defence | |
| 9K32 Strela-2 | In service |
| 9K38 Igla | 2002010Wikipedia |
| Missiles | |
| R-27 (air-to-air missile) | In service |
| R-60 (missile) | In service |
| R-73 (missile) | In service |
| R-77 | In service |
| Equipment | Eritrea |
|---|---|
| Small arms | |
| AK-47 | In service |
| AKM | In service |
| Beretta BM 59 | In service |
| DShK | In service |
| KPV heavy machine gun | In service |
| M14 rifle | In service |
| M79 grenade launcher | In service |
| Makarov pistol | In service |
| NSV machine gun | In service |
| PK machine gun | In service |
| PSL (rifle) | In service |
| RPD machine gun | In service |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
04 / Data record
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 6,416,435 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
Full-time active military personnel in the 2026 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Excludes the separately reported Reserve military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date or a 2026 headcount.
2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate.
2011 annual observation. Annual nominal GDP, current US dollars; not purchasing-power parity.
2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count.
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