Germany troop strength at 13-year high, ministry says

Germany's military had 186,700 servicemen and servicewomen at the end of July, the defence ministry said Monday, its highest level in roughly 13 years.

The ministry said the figure was about two percent higher than a year earlier and within the Bundeswehr's target range of 186,000 to 190,000. It also said applications and new hires had reached new highs, with double-digit growth compared with the same month of the previous year.

Germany has committed to increasing troop strength to at least 260,000 soldiers by 2035. Last year it introduced a voluntary service model that requires screening of all 18-year-old men but stops short of reintroducing conscription.

About 12,100 voluntary military service members and short-term regular soldiers are serving under the model, around six percent more than a year earlier.

Thomas Roewekamp, a lawmaker from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative party and chairman of parliament's defence committee, told AFP in a recent interview that Germany may still have to consider reviving compulsory military service. He said a decision would need to be taken by July 2027 at the latest.