Enlistment age by country

These are the enlistment ages for Military service, by country, according to the online CIA publication "The World Factbook".

A

*Afghanistan – 22 (military service is voluntary)
*Albania – 19 (military service is voluntary)
*Algeria – 19 (military service is compulsory)
*Angola – 17 (military service is compulsory)
*Antigua and Barbuda – 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Argentina – 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Armenia – 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Australia – 17 (military service is voluntary; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Austria – 16 (voluntary), 18 (compulsory)
*Azerbaijan – 18 (military service is compulsory)

B

*Bahamas – 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Bahrain – 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Bangladesh – 18 (military service is voluntary; enlisted volunteers and officers can join at the ages of 16 and 17 respectively, with parental consent.)
*Barbados - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join at an earlier age with parental consent.)
*Belarus - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Belgium - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Belize - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Benin - 18 (voluntary), 21 (compulsory)
*Bhutan - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Bolivia - 18 (military service is compulsory; when annual number of volunteers is low, boys as young as 14 are conscripted.)
*Bosnia and Herzegovina - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Botswana - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Brazil - 17 (voluntary), 21 (compulsory)
*Brunei - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Bulgaria - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Burkina Faso - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Burma - 18 (military service is voluntary; forced conscription of children as young as 12, despite being prohibited, still continues.)
*Burundi - 16 (military service is compulsory; children as young as 10 have been conscripted into the armed forces.)

C

*Cambodia - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Cameroon - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Canada - 18 (military service is voluntary; 16 year olds can join the reserves or the Military College; volunteers can join the regular forces at age 17 with parental consent; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Cape Verde - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Central African Republic - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Chad - 18 (voluntary; volunteers can join at an earlier age with parental consent.), 20 (compulsory - men), 21 (compulsory - women)
*Chile - 18 (military service is voluntary, although compulsory recruitment is being retained.)
*People's Republic of China - 18 (military service is compulsory; "de facto" no minimum age for volunteers.)
*Colombia - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Democratic Republic of the Congo - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Republic of the Congo - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Cote d'Ivoire - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Croatia - 16 (voluntary, with parental consent), 18 (compulsory; conscription will end by 2010.)
*Cuba - 17 (military service is compulsory)
*Cyprus - 17 (voluntary), 18 (compulsory)
*Czech Republic - 18 (voluntary), 19 (compulsory)

D

*Denmark - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Djibouti - 16 (military service is voluntary)
*Dominican Republic - 18 (military service is voluntary)

E

*Ecuador - 20 (military service is compulsory)
*Egypt - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*El Salvador - 16 (voluntary), 18 (compulsory)
*Equatorial Guinea - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Eritrea - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Estonia - 17 (voluntary), 19 (compulsory)
*Ethiopia - 18 (military service is compulsory)

F

*Fiji - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Finland - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*France - 17 (military service is voluntary)

G

*Gabon - 20 (military service is voluntary)
*Gambia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Georgia - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Germany - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Ghana - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Greece - 17 (voluntary), 18 (compulsory; conscript age lowered to 17 during wartime.)
*Guatemala - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Guinea - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Guinea-Bissau - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Guyana - 18 (military service is voluntary)

H

*Honduras - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Hungary - 18 (military service is voluntary)

I

*India - 16 (military service is voluntary; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Indonesia - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Iran - 15 (voluntary service in the Basij militia), 16 (voluntary), 19 (compulsory)
*Iraq - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Ireland - 17 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can be recruited from the age of 16 for specialist positions.)
*Israel - 18 (both voluntary and compulsory; only Jewish and Druze citizens are subject to conscription.)
*Italy - 18 (military service is voluntary)

J

*Jamaica - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join at an earlier age with parental consent.)
*Japan - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Jordan - 17 (military service is voluntary)

K

*Kazakhstan - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Kenya - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*North Korea - 17 (military service is compulsory)
*South Korea - 18 (voluntary), 20 (compulsory)
*Kuwait - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Kyrgyzstan - 18 (military service is compulsory)

L

*Laos - 15 (military service is compulsory)
*Latvia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Lebanon - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Lesotho - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Liberia - 16 (military service is voluntary)
*Libya - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Lithuania - 18 (voluntary), 19 (compulsory)
*Luxembourg - 17 (military service is voluntary; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)

M

*Macedonia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Madagascar - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Malawi - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Malaysia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Maldives - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Mali - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Malta - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Mauritania - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Mexico - 16 (voluntary, with parental consent), 18 (compulsory)
*Moldova - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Mongolia - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Montenegro - 19 (military service is voluntary)
*Morocco - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Mozambique - 18 (military service is compulsory)

N

*Namibia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Nepal - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can start military training from the age of 15.)
*Netherlands - 20 (military service is voluntary)
*New Zealand - 17 (military service is voluntary; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Nicaragua - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Niger - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Nigeria - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Norway - 16 (voluntary service in the Home Guard), 17 (voluntary - men), 18 (voluntary - women), 18 (compulsory - men; lowered to 16 during wartime.)

O

*Oman - 18 (military service is voluntary)

P

*Pakistan - 16 (military service is voluntary; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Papua New Guinea - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Paraguay - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Peru - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Philippines - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Poland - 17 (compulsory; conscription will end by 2009.)
*Portugal - 18 (military service is voluntary)

Q

*Qatar - 18 (military service is voluntary)

R

*Romania - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Russia - 18 (military service is compulsory; men have to register for the draft at age 17.)
*Rwanda - 16 (military service is voluntary)

S

*Saint Kitts and Nevis - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Sao Tome and Principe - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Saudi Arabia - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Senegal - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Serbia - 19 (military service is compulsory; lowered to 16 during wartime; conscription will end by 2010.)
*Seychelles - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join earlier with parental consent.)
*Sierra Leone - 17 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join earlier with parental consent.)
*Singapore - 16 (voluntary), 18 (compulsory)
*Slovakia - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*Slovenia - 17 (military service is voluntary)
*South Africa - 18 (military service is voluntary; a grade 12 diploma is required.)
*Spain - 20 (military service is voluntary)
*Sri Lanka - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Sudan - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Suriname - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Swaziland - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Sweden - 19 (military service is compulsory)
*Switzerland - 18 (voluntary), 19 (compulsory)
*Syria - 18 (military service is compulsory)

T

*Taiwan - 19 (military service is compulsory)
*Tajikistan - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Tanzania - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Thailand - 18 (voluntary), 21 (compulsory)
*Timor-Leste - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Togo - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Tonga - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Trinidad and Tobago - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*Tunisia - 18 (voluntary), 20 (compulsory)
*Turkey - 20 (military service is compulsory)
*Turkmenistan - 18 (military service is compulsory)

U

*Uganda - 13 (voluntary, with parental consent), 18 (compulsory)
*Ukraine - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*United Arab Emirates - 18 (military service is voluntary)
*United Kingdom - 16 (military service is voluntary; applications are accepted from those 15 years and 9 months old; must be at least 17 year old for admission to an officer program; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*United States - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join at age 17 with parental consent; soldiers are not deployed in combat zones before the age of 18.)
*Uruguay - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Uzbekistan - 18 (military service is compulsory)

V

*Venezuela - 18 (military service is compulsory)
*Vietnam - 18 (military service is compulsory)

Y

*Yemen - 18 (military service is voluntary)

Z

*Zambia - 18 (military service is voluntary; volunteers can join at the age of 16 with parental consent.)
*Zimbabwe - 18 (military service is compulsory)