Indicator	Value
Military expenditure (% GDP)	1.23 %SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Military expenditure	899,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Armed forces personnel	134,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI [2020]
Arms imports	35,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Arms exports	22,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [1997]
Military & security forces	Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Forces d'Armees de la Republique Democratique du Congo, FARDC): Land Forces (Forces Terrestres), National Navy (La Marine Nationale), Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC); Republican Guard (Garde Républicaine, GR)Ministry of Interior: Congolese National Police (Police Nationale Congolaise, PNC) (2025); note: the Republican Guard is overseen by the office of the presidency rather than the FARDC; it focuses on protecting the president and government institutions and enforcing internal securitynote 2: community-based self-defense groups, known as Wazalendo militias, are also active in areas contested by illegal armed groups, such as M23CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Military service age & obligation	18-35 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 18-45 years of age for compulsory military service for men; it is unclear how much conscription is used (2025); note: in eastern Congo, fighters from armed groups, including some associated with government security forces, have been accused of forced recruitment of child soldiersCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Arms imports (USD)	35,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Arms exports (USD)	22,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [1997]
Military spending (% of GDP)	1.23 %SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Military spending (USD)	899,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]