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Algeria's armed forces, known collectively as the Popular National Army (ANP), total 119,000 active members, with some 100,000 reservists. The president serves as Minister of National Defense. Military forces are supplemented by a 45,000-member gendarmerie, a rural police force, under the control of the president and a 30,000-member Sureté National or Metropolitan police force under the Ministry of the Interior. Two years of national military service is compulsory for males.
Algeria is a leading military power in the region and has demonstrated remarkable success in its struggle against terrorism. The Algerian military, having fought a decade-long insurgency, intends to increase expenditures in an effort to modernize and return to a more traditional defense role. Projected defense expenditures accounted for some $2.5 billion or 3.9% of GDP (FY 2004).
Due to difficulties in acquiring U.S. military equipment, Algeria’s primary military supplier has been Russia, and to a lesser extent China. Algeria has, however, in recent years, begun to diversify its supplies of military equipment to include U.S.-made airborne surveillance aircraft and ground radars. In June 2004, the U.S. and Algeria agreed to establish a formal military dialogue.
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