Armed Forces of Bolivia

Armed Forces of Bolivia
Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia
MottoSubordinacion y Constancia, ¡Viva Bolivia! (Subordination and Steadfastness. Long Live Bolivia!)
Founded7 August 1826; 198 years ago (1826-08-07)
Service branches Bolivian Army
 Bolivian Navy
 Bolivian Air Force
Leadership
Captain General of the Armed ForcesLuis Arce (President of Bolivia)
Minister of DefenseEdmundo Novillo
Commander in Chief of the Armed ForcesCésar Moisés Vallejos Rocha
Personnel
Military age18
Available for
military service
1,949,267, age 15–49 (2000 est.)
Fit for
military service
1,269,228, age 15–49 (2000 est.)
Reaching military
age annually
86,863 (2000 est.)
Active personnel40.000 to 70.000 (est.)
Reserve personnel40.000 (est.)
Expenditure
Budget$659.2 million (2017)
Percent of GDP1.76% (2017)
Industry
Foreign suppliers Argentina
 Austria
 Brazil
 China
 Mexico
 North Korea
 Peru
 Russia
 Turkey
 United States
 Venezuela
 Iran
Related articles
HistoryHistory of Bolivia
RanksMilitary ranks of Bolivia

The Bolivian Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia) are the military of Bolivia. The Armed Forces of Bolivia are responsible for the defence, both of external and internal, of Bolivia and they are constituted by Bolivian Army, the Bolivian Air Force and the Bolivian Navy. All these institutions depend on the Ministry of Defence of this country.

In addition to the Bolivian Army, the Bolivian Air Force and the Bolivian Navy, the Bolivian National Police, although dependent on the Ministry of Government in times of peace, is part of the reserves of the Armed Forces according to the Organic Law of the Armed Forces of this nation,[1] together with other reserve bodies such as the SAR-FAB emergency and rescue units.

Figures on the size and composition of the armed forces of Bolivia vary considerably, with rare official data available. It is estimated, however, that the three main forces (army, navy and air force) add up to a total of between 40,000[2] to 70,000[3][4][5] troops, while the Bolivian police would be around 40,000[6][7] troops. On 26 June 2024, General Zúñiga was arrested in a coup attempt.[8]

  1. ^ "Ley Orgánica de las FFAA" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. ^ "CIA World Facts". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Bolivia-Military Spendings". Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Bolivian Defence Spending Increases". Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. ^ Guillemí, Rubén (13 November 2019). "Evo y los militares, una relación con altibajos que tuvo un abrupto fin". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Página Siete" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. ^ "El Deber" (in Spanish). 25 March 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  8. ^ López, Susana; Schmidt, Samantha (26 June 2024). "Bolivian soldiers storm plaza; former general accused of coup attempt". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 June 2024.