Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on El Salvador.
| Active personnel (est.) | 25,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #94 / 162 |
POWER 51.45/100 — 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).
No single event defined Jul–Sep 2026. The country's position is the product of long-cycle forces — geography, trade, neighbours — all of which held steady.
Momentum at zero is not stagnation; it is the accurate record of a quarter without a catalyst.
The Armed Forces of El Salvador (La Fuerza Armada de El Salvador, FAES): Army of El Salvador (Ejercito de El Salvador, ES), Naval Force of El Salvador (Fuerza Naval de El Salvador, FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, FAS) Ministry of Justice and Public Safety: National Civil Police (Policia Nacional Civil, PNC) (2025)
approximately 25,000 active FAES (2025)
the FAES is lightly armed with an inventory of mostly older or secondhand arms and equipment, largely provided by the US (2025)
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (17-22 for military schools); men are subject to selective compulsory military service; service obligation up to 18 months (2025)
the Armed Force of El Salvador (FAES) is responsible for defending national sovereignty and ensuring territorial integrity but also has considerable domestic security responsibilities; while the National Civil Police (PNC) are responsible for maintaining public security, the country’s constitution allows the president to use the FAES “in exceptional circumstances” to maintain internal peace and public security; in 2016, the government created a special joint unit of Army commandos and police to fight criminal gangs; more military personnel were devoted to internal security beginning in 2019 when President BUKELE signed a decree authorizing military involvement in police duties to combat rising gang violence, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking, as well as assisting with border security the military led the country for much of the 20th century; from 1980 to 1992, it fought a bloody civil war against guerrillas from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front or FMLN, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Revolutionary Front (Frente Democrático Revolucionario), a coalition of left-wing dissident political groups backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union; the FAES received considerable US support during the conflict; significant human rights violations occurred during the war and approximately 75,000 Salvadorans, mostly civilians, were killed (2025)
