Countries with Mandatory Military Service 2024 (2024)

BrazilYes

10-12 months for males aged 18-45

RussiaYes

12 months for males 18-27, after which they become reserves until age 50. May end conscription in ne...

MexicoYes

12 months for lottery-selected males at age 18; after which they become reserves until age 40

EgyptYes

18-36 months for males 18-30, who then become reserves for 9 years

DR CongoYes

Law authorizes conscription of citizens aged 18-45 if necessary; degree of implementation is unclear

VietnamYes

24-36 months for males 18-27 (females eligible, but are not drafted)

IranYes

18-24 months for males at age 18

TurkeyYes

6-12 months for males at age 20 (6 months for privates and non-commissioned officers and 12 months f...

ThailandYes

24 months for lottery-chosen males at age 21

ColombiaYes

18 months for males aged 18-24

South KoreaYes

21 months (Army), 23 months (Navy) or 24 months (Air Force) for males 18-28 (scheduled to decrease t...

SudanYes

12-24 months for males and females 18-33

AlgeriaYes

12 months for males aged 19-30

MoroccoYes

12 months for males and females at age 19

UkraineYes

12 months for ages 20-27 (gender requirements unclear); conscripts cannot serve on front lines. Cons...

AngolaYes

24 months for males aged 20-45

UzbekistanYes

12 months for males aged 18-27; shortened (1-month) term can be purchased and requires remaining in ...

MozambiqueYes

24 months of selective compulsory service for males and females aged 18-35

VenezuelaYes

"Forcible recruitment" forbidden, but all citizens aged 18-50 must register for possible military tr...

NigerYes

24 months selective compulsory service in military (females may also serve in health care) for unmar...

North KoreaYes

8 years (males) to 5 years (females) military service at age 17

SyriaYes

18 months for males aged 18-42

MaliYes

24 months selective compulsory for males and females at age 18

TaiwanYes

4 months military training for males aged 18-36 (civil service can be substituted in some cases), pl...

KazakhstanYes

12 months for males aged 18-27

ChadYes

36 months for males age 20, 12 months for females age 21 (females can opt for civic service)

GuatemalaYes

12-24 months selective conscription service for males aged 17-21, though conscription is rare in pra...

SenegalYes

24 months selective compulsory service for males (and possibly females) at age 20

CambodiaYes

18 months for males aged 18-30

BeninYes

18 months selective compulsory service for males and females aged 18-35; higher education degree req...

BoliviaYes

12 months military service or 24 months Search and Rescue for males aged 18-22

TunisiaYes

12 months for ages 20-35 (gender requirements unclear)

JordanYes

12 months for unemployed males 25-29; obligation consists of 3 months military training and 9 months...

South SudanYes

12-24 months for citizens (gender requirements unclear) at age 18

CubaYes

24 months for males aged 17-28

SwedenYes

7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, ...

AzerbaijanYes

18 months for men 18-25 (12 months for university graduates)

TajikistanYes

24 months for males aged 18-27; an exemption can be purchased for US$2,200 as of 2021

GreeceYes

9 months (Air Force, Navy) to 12 months (Army) for males aged 19-45

United Arab EmiratesYes

24 months (16 months for secondary school graduates) for males aged 18-30

BelarusYes

12-18 months military service or 24-36 months alternative service for males aged 18-27; duration dep...

IsraelYes

32 months for men and 24 months for women (varies based on military occupation), 48 months for offic...

AustriaYes

6 months military service or 9 months alternative civil/community service for males 18 to 50 years o...

LaosYes

18 months for males at age 18

ParaguayYes

12 months (Army) to 24 months (Navy) for males at age 18

KyrgyzstanYes

9 months (university graduates) to 12 months military or Interior Ministry service for males aged 18...

TurkmenistanYes

24 months (30 months for Navy) for males aged 18-30

El SalvadorYes

12 months (11 for officers and non-commissioned officers) selective compulsory service for males at ...

SingaporeYes

24 months for males 18-21, who then become reserves until age 40 (enlisted) or 50 (officers)

DenmarkYes

4-12 months training required for men at age 18. No immediate service required, but soldier remains ...

FinlandYes

6-12 months military or border guard service for males at age 18, after which they become reserves u...

NorwayYes

19 months (12 months plus 4-5 refreshers) for males and females aged 19-44 (18-55 in wartime). Howev...

KuwaitYes

12 months for males aged 18-35

EritreaYes

6 months training and 12 months national service (typically military) for males aged 18-40 and femal...

GeorgiaYes

12 months for males aged 18-27

MongoliaYes

12 months Army, Air Force, or police service or 24 months civil service for males aged 18-27; after ...

MoldovaYes

12 months for males aged 18-27 - may be abolished soon

ArmeniaYes

24 months for males 18-27. If enrolled in officer-producing program at university, can defer service...

QatarYes

4-12 months (depending upon education and profession) for males 18-35

LithuaniaYes

9 months for males aged 19-26

Guinea BissauYes

24 months selective compulsory service for males and females aged 18-25

Equatorial GuineaYes

24 months selective compulsory for males at age 18, though conscription is rare in practice.

EstoniaYes

8-11 months military or government service for males 18-27; duration depends on education, with NCOs...

CyprusYes

14 months in Cypriot National Guard (CNG) for males aged 18-50

BhutanYes

Military training required for males 20-25, but full enlistment is voluntary

Cape VerdeYes

24 months selective compulsory for males and females 18-35

AfghanistanunclearTanzaniaUncertain

No military conscription, but selective conscription for 24 months public service is authorized. Cur...

Timor LesteUncertain

Conscription of males and females aged 18-30 for 18 months of service was authorized in 2007, but cu...

IndiaNo

No conscription

PakistanNo

No conscription

NigeriaNo

No conscription

BangladeshNo

No conscription

JapanNo

No conscription

PhilippinesNo

No conscription

GermanyNo

Conscription ended 2011

United KingdomNo

Conscription abolished 1963

FranceNo

No conscription

South AfricaNo

No conscription

ItalyNo

Conscription abolished 2004

KenyaNo

No conscription

UgandaNo

No conscription

IraqNo

No conscription

CanadaNo

No conscription

Saudi ArabiaNo

No conscription

YemenNo

Conscription abolished 2001

GhanaNo

No conscription

PeruNo

No conscription

MalaysiaNo

No conscription

NepalNo

No conscription

MadagascarNo

No conscription

CameroonNo

No conscription

AustraliaNo

Conscription abolished 1973

Burkina FasoNo

No conscription

Sri LankaNo

No conscription

MalawiNo

No conscription

ZambiaNo

No conscription

RomaniaNo

Conscription ended 2006

EcuadorNo

Conscription suspended

NetherlandsNo

Conscription abolished 1996

ZimbabweNo

No conscription

GuineaNo

No conscription

RwandaNo

No conscription

BurundiNo

No conscription

BelgiumNo

Conscription abolished 1995

Dominican RepublicNo

No conscription

HondurasNo

No conscription

Papua New GuineaNo

No conscription

Czech RepublicNo

Conscription abolished 2004

HungaryNo

Conscription abolished 2005

TogoNo

No conscription

Sierra LeoneNo

No conscription

NicaraguaNo

No conscription

SerbiaNo

Conscription abolished 2011

LibyaNo

No conscription

BulgariaNo

Conscription ended 2007

Republic of the CongoNo

No conscription

Central African RepublicNo

No conscription

LiberiaNo

No conscription

New ZealandNo

No conscription

LebanonNo

No conscription

IrelandNo

No conscription

MauritaniaNo

No conscription

OmanNo

No conscription

CroatiaNo

Conscription abolished 2008

Bosnia and HerzegovinaNo

Conscription abolished 2005

GambiaNo

No conscription

AlbaniaNo

Conscription abolished 2010

JamaicaNo

No conscription

BotswanaNo

No conscription

NamibiaNo

No conscription

GabonNo

No conscription

LesothoNo

No conscription

SloveniaNo

Conscription abolished in 2003, but could be reinstated in event of war

North MacedoniaNo

Conscription abolished 2007

LatviaNo

No conscription

Trinidad and TobagoNo

No conscription

BahrainNo

No conscription

MauritiusNo

No conscription

EswatiniNo

No conscription

DjiboutiNo

No conscription

FijiNo

No conscription

ComorosNo

No conscription

GuyanaNo

No conscription

LuxembourgNo

No conscription

SurinameNo

No conscription

MontenegroNo

Conscription abolished 2006

MaltaNo

No conscription

MaldivesNo

No conscription

BruneiNo

No conscription

BahamasNo

No conscription

BarbadosNo

No conscription

CuracaoNo

No conscription

Saint LuciaNo

No conscription

TongaNo

No conscription

SeychellesNo

No conscription

Antigua and BarbudaNo

No conscription

BermudaNo

No conscription

Saint Kitts and NevisNo

No conscription

Vatican CityNo

No conscription

ChileInfrequent

12 months (Army) to 22 months (Navy, Air Force) selective compulsory service for males 18-45 — But i...

ChinaDe jure

De jure system (legally recognized, but not practiced). 24 months for males aged 18-22 — However, co...

United StatesDe jure

De jure system. No conscription currently active, but Selective Service retains right to randomly "d...

IndonesiaDe jure

Selective conscription is authorized, but not currently utilized. Obligation is 18-24 months for mal...

EthiopiaDe jure

No ongoing compulsory military service, but the military may conduct compulsory callups when necessa...

MyanmarDe jure

Law reintroducing conscription passed in 2010, but has not yet entered into force

SpainDe jure

Conscription abolished 2001, but government has right to mobilize citizens aged 19-25 years in case ...

ArgentinaDe jure

Conscription suspended in 1995, but government has authority to draft citizens into service Argentin...

PolandDe jure

De jure system. Not used since 2009, but the president may, at the advice of the legislature, introd...

Ivory CoastDe jure

Selective conscription of males and females aged 18-25 is authorized, but is not currently enforced.

SomaliaDe jure

Conscription of males aged 18-40 and females aged 18-30 is authorized, but is not currently enforced

PortugalDe jure

Compulsory service abolished 2004. Conscription authorized, but is not currently enforced.

SlovakiaDe jure

Conscription in peacetime suspended in 2004

UruguayDe jure

No military conscription currently active, but government has the authority to conscript in emergenc...

BelizeDe jure

Law authorizes conscription if necessary, but as volunteers outnumber available positions 3:1, it ha...

Sao Tome and PrincipeDe jure

[Limited information] Conscription authorized for citizens at age 18, but is apparently unenforced.

San MarinoDe jure

No organized conscription, but government has the authority to call up all citizens aged 16-60 to se...

SwitzerlandChoice

Service is mandatory, but comes with 3 options. | 1) Repetition course, which consists of 18-23 wee...

Countries with Mandatory Military Service 2024 (2024)
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