Indicator	Value
Military expenditure (% GDP)	1.81 %SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]
Military expenditure	5,500,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]
Armed forces personnel	522,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI [2020]
Arms imports	58,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Arms exports	10,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]
Military & security forces	People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; aka Vietnam People's Army, VPA): Ground Forces (Army), Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Defense - Air Force, Vietnam Border Guard, Vietnam Coast GuardVietnam People's Ministry of Public Security; Vietnam Civil Defense Force (2025); note: note 1: the People's Public Security Ministry is responsible for internal security and controls the national police, a special national security investigative agency, and other internal security units, including specialized riot police regimentsnote 2: the Vietnam Coast Guard was established in 1998 as the Vietnam Marine Police and renamed in 2013; Vietnam established a civilian maritime self-defense force in 2010; the Vietnam Department of Fisheries Resources Surveillance (DFIRES; under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), established in 2013, is responsible for fisheries enforcement, aquatic conservation roles, and is designated as Vietnam's standing agency for combating illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing; it is armed, allowed to use force if necessary, and works in tandem with the Vietnam Coast Guardnote 3: the PAVN is the military arm of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and responsible to the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest party organ on military policy; the CMC is led by the CPV General SecretaryCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Military service age & obligation	18-27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service for men and women (in practice only men are drafted); service obligation is 24-36 months depending on the branch of service (including Coast Guard and Ministry of Public Security) (2025)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Arms imports (USD)	58,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2024]
Arms exports (USD)	10,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]
Military spending (% of GDP)	1.81 %SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]
Military spending (USD)	5,500,000,000 US$SIPRI via World Bank WDI [2018]