ia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin

Military Poland

Military branches:
Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (includes Navy (Marynarka Wojenna,
MW)), Polish Air Force (Sily Powietrzenje Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej,
SPRP) (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age for compulsory military service after January 1st
of the year of 18th birthday; 17 years of age for voluntary military
service; in 2005, Poland plans to shorten the length of conscript
service obligation from 12 to 9 months; by 2008, plans call for at
least 60% of military personnel to be volunteers; only soldiers who
have completed their conscript service are allowed to volunteer for
professional service; as of April 2004, women are only allowed to
serve as officers and noncommissioned officers (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 17-49: 9,681,703
females age 17-49: 9,480,641 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 17-49: 7,739,472
females age 17-49: 7,859,165 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 275,446
females age 17-49: 265,164 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$3.5 billion (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.71% (2002)

Transnational Issues Poland

Disputes - international:
as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border,
Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules to restrict
illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus
and Ukraine

Illicit drugs:
major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international
market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American
illicit drugs to Western Europe

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Portugal

Introduction Portugal

Background:
Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th
centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the
destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the
Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony.
A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six
decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a
left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The
following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African