Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Austria.
| Active personnel (est.) | 22,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #100 / 162 |
POWER 56.36/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
An uneventful quarter, recorded without embellishment: no breakthrough to celebrate, no setback to mourn.
The longer forces — demographics, trade routes, regional balances — kept doing what they do, and the country rode them steadily.
Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer): Land Forces, Air Force, Cyber Forces, Special Operations Forces, Militia (reserves) (2025)
approximately 22,000 active Armed Forces (includes about 14,000 regular troops and around 8,000 reservists/militia undergoing refresher training) (2025)
the military's inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and imported armaments from European countries and the US; the Austrian defense industry produces a range of equipment and partners with other countries (2025)
registration requirement at age 17, the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; men above the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service; women may volunteer; compulsory service is for 6 months, or optionally, alternative civil/community service (Zivildienst) for 9 months (2025)
210 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force); 100 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); 160 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (2025)
the military’s primary responsibilities are national defense and protecting Austria’s neutrality; it also has some domestic security and disaster response responsibilities; each of the nine federal states has a military command that provides a link between the military and civil authorities; the main tasks of these commands include providing military assistance during disasters and supporting security police operations the Austrian military contributes to international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions; Austria has been constitutionally militarily non-aligned since 1955 but is an EU member and actively participates in EU peacekeeping and crisis management operations under the EU Common Security and Defense Policy; Austria is not a member of NATO but joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace framework in 1995 and participates in some NATO-led crisis management and peacekeeping operations; more than 100,000 Austrian military and civilian personnel have taken part in more than 50 international peace support and humanitarian missions since 1960 (2025)
