ervice; from 2007, at the earliest, compulsory
military service obligation will be reduced from 8 months to 6 (June
2004)

Azerbaijan
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military
service; law passed December 2001 raises maximum conscription age
from 28 to 35 (December 2001)

Bahamas, The
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Bahrain
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Bangladesh
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription (2005)

Barbados
18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers
at earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)

Belarus
18-27 years of age for compulsory military service;
conscript service obligation - 18 months (May 2004)

Belgium
16 years of age for voluntary military service; women
comprise some 7% of the Belgian armed forces (2001)

Belize
18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow
for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription
has never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available
positions by 3:1 (2001)

Benin
21 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
in practice, volunteers may be taken at the age of 18; both sexes
are eligible for military service; conscript tour of duty - 18
months (2004)

Bhutan
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription (2001)

Bolivia
18 years of age for voluntary military service; when annual
number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is
effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14; one
estimate holds that 40% of the armed forces are under the age of 18,
with 50% of those under the age of 16; conscript tour of duty - 12
months (2002)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
18 years of age for compulsory military
service in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; 16 years of age
in times of war; 18 years of age for Republika Srpska; 17 years of
age for voluntary military service in the Federation and in the
Republika Srpska; by law, military obligations cover all healthy men
between the ages of 18 and 60, and all women between the ages of 18
and 55; service obligation is 4 months (July 2004)

Botswana
18 is the apparent age of voluntary military service; the
official qualifications for determining minimum age are unknown
(2001)

Brazil
19 years of age for compulsory