The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2020 to 2025 Europe

Military - note Belgium, in 6 editions.

The entry for Belgium published Military - note in 6 editions of 36, from 2020 to 2025. The text changed in 5 editions. Each is shown as published. Military - note in every entry.

editions changed the text
5
the first edition with it
2020
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Military - note” (2020 to 2025).

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2025 edition

Changed since 2024

Open the 2025 entry

  • the Belgian military's responsibilities include territorial defense, humanitarian/disaster relief, assistance to the police if required, international peacekeeping missions, and support to its NATO and EU security commitments, which Belgium considers vital components of its national security policy;
  • outside of the country, the military operates almost always within an international organization or a coalition;
  • Belgium was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949;
  • it hosts the NATO headquarters in Brussels;
  • Belgium also cooperates bilaterally with neighboring countries, such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in conducting joint patrols of their respective air spaces and in a composite combined special operations command with Denmark and the Netherlands (2025)

the Belgian military is a small, all-volunteer force equipped with modern Western equipment; its military's responsibilities include territorial defense, humanitarian/disaster relief, assistance to the police if required, international peacekeeping missions, and support to its NATO and EU security commitments, which Belgium considers vital components of its national security policy; outside of the country, the military operates almost always within an international organization or a coalition, such as its ongoing deployments to Africa for the EU and UN, eastern Europe as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, and the Middle East with an international coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; coalition; Belgium was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949; it hosts the NATO headquarters in Brussels; Belgium also cooperates bilaterally with neighboring countries, such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in conducting joint patrols of their respective air spaces and in a composite combined special operations command with Denmark and the Netherlands (2024) (2025)

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. “Belgium: Military - note.” The World Factbook, 2020–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/belgium/military-note.

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