Algeria's armed forces, known collectively as the Popular National Army (ANP), total 119,000 members, with some 100,000 reservists. The president serves as Minister of National Defense. Projected defense expenditures accounted for some $2.5 billion or 3.9% of GDP (FY 2004). Two years of national military service is compulsory for males.

Algeria is a leading military power in the region and has its force oriented toward its western (Morocco) and eastern (Libya) borders. Its primary military supplier has been Russia, which has sold various types of sophisticated equipment under military trade agreements, and China. Algeria has, in recent years, diversified its sources of military material. Military forces are supplemented by a 45,000-member gendarmerie or rural police force under the control of the president and 30,000-member Sureté National or Metropolitan police force under the Ministry of the Interior.