Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr (German: [ˈbʊndəsˌveːɐ̯] ^ⓘ, lit. Federal Defence) are the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part (armed forces or Streitkräfte) and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: German Army, German Navy, German Air Force and Cyber and Information Domain Service, which are supported by the Bundeswehr Support Area.

As of 31 May 2024, the Bundeswehr had a strength of 180,215 active-duty military personnel and 80,761 civilians, placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world, and making it the second largest in the European Union behind France. In addition, the Bundeswehr has approximately 34,600 reserve personnel (2024). With German military expenditures at $88.5 billion (2024), the Bundeswehr is the fourth-highest-funded military in the world, though military expenditures have until recently remained low at an average at 1.5% of national GDP, well below the non-binding NATO target of 2%. In 2024, Germany fulfilled NATO obligations of spending 2% of its GDP on its armed forces. Germany is aiming to expand the Bundeswehr to around 203,000 soldiers by 2031 to better cope with increasing responsibilities.

Following concerns from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany announced a major shift in policy, pledging a €100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr – to remedy years of underinvestment – along with raising the budget to above 2% GDP. In 2025, the German constitution was amended, exempting military and intelligence spending above 1% GDP from the Schuldenbremse (debt limit).