Zimbabwe Defence Forces | |
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Flag of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
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Current form | 18 May 1980 |
Service branches |
Zimbabwe National Army Air Force of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Republic Police |
Headquarters | Harare |
Leadership | |
President | Robert Mugabe |
Minister of Defence | Sydney Sekeramayi |
Chief of Defense | Gen. Constantine Chiwenga |
Manpower | |
Conscription | 18–24 years of age |
Available for military service |
5,500,000, age 15–49 (2017) |
Fit for military service |
3,175,000, age 15–49 (2017) |
Reaching military age annually |
310,000 (2017) |
Active personnel | 30,000; plus 21,800 paramilitary (ranked 83rd) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | US$95 million (2017) |
Percent of GDP | 0.66% (2017) |
Industry | |
Foreign suppliers |
Brazil Bulgaria China Czech Republic France Italy Russia Slovakia United Kingdom |
Related articles | |
History | Military history of Zimbabwe |
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). As a landlocked country, Zimbabwe has no navy. The most senior commander of the ZDF is General Constantine Chiwenga.
In July 1994 the combined Zimbabwe Defence Forces Headquarters was created.
The Zimbabwe army had an estimated strength of 29,000 in 2007. The ZNA had an estimated 25,000 personnel. The air force had about 4,000 men assigned.
Zimbabwe maintains a strong paramilitary force. In 2007 the IISS estimated that the Zimbabwe Republic Police had 19,500 personnel, including 20,000 officers, and that there was an additional 2,300 personnel in the Police Support Unit. Separately Paramilitary Police have been reported.
At the time of independence, the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe declared that integrating Zimbabwe's three armed forces would be one of Zimbabwe's top priorities. The existing Rhodesian Army was combined with the two guerrilla armies; the 20,000-strong Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) forces of Zimbabwe African National Union-PF and the 15,000-strong Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) forces of PF-Zimbabwe African People's Union. A British Military Assistance and Training Team played a pivotal role in assisting the creation of the new army, and was still in place in 2000. The Rhodesian Air Force was eventually reorganised as the Air Force of Zimbabwe.