Germany’s armed forces have grown to 186,700 personnel, their highest in about 13 years, after adding 3,700 members over the past year.
Germany’s armed forces have grown to 186,700 personnel, their highest level in about 13 years, after adding 3,700 service members over the past year.
The total is already within the government’s 2026 target range of 186,000 to 190,000 personnel, and the German defense ministry expects further growth before the end of the year.
The figure covers several forms of military service.
According to Deutsche Welle, the Bundeswehr comprises 61,500 career soldiers on permanent contracts and 113,000 personnel serving under longer-term fixed contracts.
The remaining 12,100 are voluntary service members and personnel on shorter contracts, whose numbers increased by 6 percent year-on-year.
By the end of July, the Bundeswehr had received 47,300 applications for military careers, up 26 percent year-on-year, while the number of recruits hired rose 12 percent to 15,400.
Berlin aims to reach approximately 260,000 active personnel and 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s, which would require around 70,000 additional active-service members, Deutsche Welle reported.
New Military Service, Initial Recruits
The ministry also released the first results from a questionnaire introduced to identify young people who may be interested in and eligible for military service.
Forms were sent to 194,000 men and 184,000 who registered as women or as another gender.
Men are required to respond, while participation is voluntary for the other recipients. Up to 96 percent of men returned the questionnaire, compared with 4 percent of the second group.
Completing the questionnaire does not create an obligation to enlist.
The responses led to 2,630 assessments, after which 865 applicants were selected to begin service starting this year or in 2027.
The questionnaire forms part of Germany’s new military service law, which took effect in January to expand the Bundeswehr through voluntary recruitment.
Military service remains optional, but the legislation establishes a registration system that could also support conscription if it is reintroduced.
The law has nevertheless sparked debate.
In April, attention focused on a provision requiring men aged 17 to 45 to obtain approval from the Bundeswehr for stays abroad exceeding three months.
The defense ministry later clarified that the requirement would not be enforced while military service remains voluntary.
