Military of the Netherlands

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Military of the Netherlands
Military Manpower
Military age	20 years of age (2004) no conscription
Availability	Males age 15-49: 3,557,918 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	Males age 15-49: 2,856,691 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	Males: 99,934 (2005 est.)
Active troops	53,130 (69th)
Military Expenditures
Amount	US$ 10,37billion (2006)est
Percent of GDP	1.6% (2004)

The military of the Netherlands is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):

Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army, the regular, land based army branch.
Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps.
Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force
Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Constabulary, tasks include military police and border control.

Conscription in the Netherlands has been abandoned as of 1996. All functions, except the Submarine service and Marine Corps, are open to women. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs 68,000 persons, this figure includes both civilian and military personnel.

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This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.
Netherlands