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| Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland | |
|---|---|
| Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej | |
 Banner of the Polish Armed Forces | |
     | |
| Motto | God, Honor, Fatherland (Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna) |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Current form | January 1990 |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Warsaw |
| Website | www |
| Leadership | |
| President |  Andrzej Duda |
| Minister of National Defence |  Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz |
| Chief of the General Staff |  General Wiesław Kukuła |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Conscription | No |
| Active personnel | ~216,100[1] |
| Reserve personnel | ~200,000 [2] |
| Deployed personnel | 2600+NATO (2023)[3] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | 186,6 billion zł ~ US$45,1 billion[4] (ranked 14th) |
| Percent of GDP | 4.7% (2025)[5] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | PGZ FB Radom ZM Tarnów Mesko Jelcz Rosomak HSW OBRUM PIT-RADWAR WB Group |
| Foreign suppliers |  European Union United States South Korea
 United Kingdom Norway Israel |
| Related articles | |
| History | List of wars involving Poland Timeline of the Polish Army |
| Ranks | Polish Armed Forces rank insignia |
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, pronounced [ˈɕiwɨ ˈzbrɔjnɛ ʐɛt͡ʂpɔsˈpɔlitɛj ˈpɔlskʲɛj]; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called Wojsko Polskie in Poland ([ˈvɔj.skɔ ˈpɔl.skjɛ], roughly the "Polish Military"—abbreviated WP), are the national armed forces of the Republic of Poland. The name has been used since the early 19th century, but can also be applied to earlier periods.
The Polish Legions and the Blue Army, composed of Polish volunteers from the United States and those who switched sides from the Central Powers, were formed during World War I. In the war's aftermath, the Polish Army was reformed from the remnants of the partitioning powers' forces and expanded significantly during the Polish–Soviet War of 1920. World War II dramatically impacted Polish military structures, with the initial defeat by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union invasions leading to the dispersion of Polish forces. After the war, the Polish People's Army (LWP) was formed and its standards aligned to those of the former Warsaw Pact. The LWP's reputation suffered due to its role in political suppression both domestically and abroad, such as during the Prague Spring. Following the fall of communism, Poland shifted towards Western military standards, joining NATO in 1999 and undertaking substantial modernization of its forces.
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland comprise five main service branches: the Polish Land Forces (Wojska Lądowe), the Polish Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), the Polish Air Force (Siły Powietrzne), the Polish Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), and the Polish Territorial Defence Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej), under the command of the Ministry of National Defence of Poland. According to SIPRI, Poland spent $31.6 billion on its defense budget in 2023, ranking 14th in the world in terms of military expenditures.[6]
In 2023, Poland spent the greatest share of its GDP for military expenditures (3.9%) among all NATO members.[7] With over 216,100 active personnel in 2024, the Polish Armed Forces are the third largest military in NATO, after Turkey and the USA.[8]
- ^ "Raport: Polska armia trzecia w NATO i największa w Unii Europejskiej". gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). 2024-07-16.
- ^ "TDF numbers". portalsamorządowy.pl.
- ^ IISS 2020, p. 136.
- ^ "Defence Budget as an Element of Civilian Oversight of the Military". Defence24. 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ Poland's national defense is financed from two main sources. The first is the state budget from which, in accordance with the law, at least 3% of GDP is allocated to national defense. The second is the Armed Forces Support Fund, which is supplied with extra-budgetary funds and therefore depends on many factors. The values given are the highest assumed for a given year.
- ^ "Trends in Military Expenditure 2023" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Hawkins, Derek (2024-02-13). "See which NATO countries spend less than 2% of their GDP on defense". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
Poland — which shares part of its northern border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and a long stretch of its southeastern border with Ukraine — spent a greater share of its GDP on defense last year than any other member state, at 3.9 percent.
- ^ Celej, Piotr (2024-07-16). "Polska armia trzecia w NATO i największa w Unii Europejskiej" [The Polish army is the third in NATO and the largest in the European Union]. Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-08-16.