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Is Military Service mandatory in your country?
The 2026 map of where Military Service is mandatory or partly required, aired Oct 19, 2026.
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Mandatory in 45 countries
6 months basic service, or 9 months civilian service.
Recruit school 18 to 21 weeks; civilian service is longer.
14 months for men. Women may volunteer since 2025.
12 months for men, 9 in border regions.
165 to 347 days. 12,500 recruits started in July 2026.
8 or 11 months now, 12 months from 2027.
11 months. A lottery fills the places volunteers leave.
9 months. 3,870 conscripts listed for 2026.
Brought back in 2026: 2 months of basic training.
12 months. Up to 1,200 called up in spring 2026.
18 months, or 12 months for graduates.
12 months. 261,000 to be called up in 2026.
6 to 11 months, picked by an electronic lottery.
Cut from 24 to 18 months for 2026 draftees.
Call-ups in January, July and October 2026.
12 months, or a paid exemption plus basic training.
Wartime call-up of men 25 to 60 under martial law.
14 to 24 months for men.
11 months, or 3 years without a school diploma.
12 months for men aged 18 to 35.
Compulsory for men; the length depends on education.
Brought back in 2019: 12 months, ages 19 to 25.
12 months for men from age 19.
12 months, ages 20 to 35.
Brought back in 2026: 3 months, picked by lottery.
Lottery: about 34,600 men drafted by red card in 2026.
24 months for men.
Men drafted since 2024 under the 2010 law.
2 years of full-time National Service.
12 months for men.
12 months. Men 18 to 27 called up twice a year.
12 months; an alternative service exists.
Men called up twice a year; round-ups are reported.
Men 18 to 27 called up twice a year.
12 months, or a paid reserve option.
Men born in 2004 called up in late 2025.
Compulsory from age 18; draft campaigns ran in 2025.
A draw for men at 18; drawn men train on Saturdays.
2 years for men; dodging it can mean prison.
18 to 21 months for men. No plans to draft women.
Men and women: 18 months in law, open-ended in practice.
Men and women. Reported: 10 years for men, 7 for women.
Men 32 months. Women are drafted too.
Men and women. 7,258 called up under the law in 2025.
Men and women since 2015. 1 in 3 conscripts are women.
Everywhere not listed here, Military Service is not required.
Partly mandatory in 14 countries
Mandatory medical screening; service itself is voluntary.
National Defence Day is compulsory at 18; service is voluntary.
Men must fill in a Bundeswehr form since 2026; service is voluntary.
Men and women draw lots, but every 2026 recruit volunteered.
Registration is compulsory; the ranks are filled by volunteers.
New 2026 law; a lottery only if volunteers fall short.
A 45-day training ballot, not military service.
3-month national service at 18, women too, not the army.
Back in law, but the first call-ups are not until 2030.
Men must enlist at 18; only about 6% are taken.
Compulsory in law; volunteers fill most places.
A lottery only fills the places volunteers leave.
Registration is compulsory; service is voluntary since 1999.
Men must register at 18. No draft since 1973.
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