Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Tajikistan.
| Active personnel (est.) | 10,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #133 / 162 |
POWER 49.01/100 — 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).
The quarter passed without decisive turns. Governance continued, markets functioned, and the score reflects that uneventfulness.
For countries like this, the real story is always the slow one — and this quarter added no new chapter to it.
Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan: Ground Forces, Mobile Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces Tajik National Guard (TNG); Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Troops of Tajikistan; State Committee on National Security: Border Troops (aka Tajik Border Service) (2025)
estimated 10,000 active Armed Forces; estimated 5-10,000 active paramilitary National Guard, Border Service, and Internal Troops personnel (2025)
the military is equipped with mostly older Russian and Soviet-era armaments; it also has smaller amounts of items from suppliers such as China, Türkiye, and the US (2025)
18-27 years of age for compulsory (men only) or voluntary (men and women) military service; up to a 24-month service obligation for conscripts based on education level (2025)
the military's primary concerns are terrorism, border security, territorial defense, and regional security, particularly in neighboring Afghanistan; Russia is traditionally Tajikistan’s most important security partner and thousands of Russian troops are stationed in the country, primarily at the 201st military base, which Moscow has leased until at least 2042; Russia and Tajikistan have a joint air defense system, and they conduct periodic joint exercises; Tajikistan has been a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and contributes troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force; Tajikistan also cooperates on security matters with China, including joint military training Tajikistan is the only former Soviet republic that did not form its armed forces from old Soviet Army units following the collapse of the USSR in 1991; rather, Russia retained command of the Soviet units there while the Tajik government raised a military from scratch; the first ground forces were officially created in 1993 from groups that fought for the government during the Tajik Civil War (2025)
