South Africa - Military

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South Africa is located Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. The climate is mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights. The terrain is vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain.

Military branches

This entry lists the service branches subordinate to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air, and marine forces).
Military branches - South African National Defense Force (SANDF) : South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Services (2008)

Military service age and obligation

This entry gives the required ages for voluntary or conscript military service and the length of service obligation.
Military service age and obligation : 18 years of age for voluntary military service; women have a long history of military service in noncombat roles dating back to World War I (2004)

Manpower available for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and assumes that every individual is fit to serve.
Manpower available for military service - males age 16-49 : 11,622,507
Manpower available for military service - females age 16-49 : 11,501,537 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and who are not otherwise disqualified for health reasons; accounts for the health situation in the country and provides a more realistic estimate of the actual number fit to serve.
Manpower fit for military service - males age 16-49 : 6,042,498
Manpower fit for military service - females age 16-49 : 5,471,103 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

This entry gives the number of males and females entering the military manpower pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and is a measure of the availability of military-age young adults.
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - male : 529,201
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - female : 522,678 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures

This entry gives spending on defense programs for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
Military expenditures : 1.7% of GDP (2006)

Military - note

This entry includes miscellaneous military information of significance not included elsewhere.
Military - note : with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete

More Information about the country

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