Air force personnel: 17,700 (8/98)
(per capita): 0.89 per 1000 people

Armed forces growth: -28%

Armed forces personnel: 51,000
(per capita): 2.58 per 1000 people

Army personnel: 25,400 (8/98)
(per capita): 1.28 per 1000 people

Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force

Conscription: No conscription (FWCC).

Conventional arms imports: $687 million
(per $ GDP): $13.07 per $1.00E+04
(per capita): $34.81 per person

Employment in arms production: 10,000 (2001)
(per capita): 506.79 per 1 million people

Expenditures - dollar figure: $11.39 billion (FY02)
(per $ GDP): $21.67 per $1.00E+03
(per capita): $577.23 per person

Expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.9% (FY02)

Gulf War Coalition Forces: 700
(per $ GDP): 0.13 per $100 million
(per capita): 35.47 per 1 million people

Manpower - availability - Males age 15-49: 5,037,538 (2003 est.)
(per capita): 255.29 per 1000 people

Manpower - fit for military service - Males age 15-49: 4,339,011 (2003 est.)
(per capita): 219.89 per 1000 people

Manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2003 est.)

Manpower - reaching military age annually - Males: 142,377 (2003 est.)
(per capita): 7.21 per 1000 people

Navy personnel: 14,300 (8/98)
(per capita): 0.72 per 1000 people

Weapon holdings: 1,186,000 (2001)
(per capita): 60105.46 per 1 million people

Australia’s armed forces are known as the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The ADF includes the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping, most recently in East Timor and the Solomon Islands, disaster relief, and armed conflict including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Prime Minister appoints the Chief of the Defence Force from one of the armed services, the current chief is General Peter Cosgrove. In 2005–06 the Australian Defence budget is $17.5 billion.