Nations across Europe are turning to conscription to strengthen their militaries in the face of Russian threats
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a new national military service scheme as France and other European nations seek to boost their armed forces amid growing concerns about the Russian threat.
The move comes after Germany and Poland put forward plans for boosting national service following growing warnings that Europe’s militaries could struggle to defend their countries from attack.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has called on allies to follow the Baltic state in implementing mandatory military service to deter and defend against Russian aggression.
There has been no conscription or requirement for military service in the UK since the end of National Service in 1960, with the British armed forces remaining a professional volunteer force.
Last year, during the election campaign, then Conservative leader Rishi Sunak suggested bringing back mandatory military service. However, this year the Government said it had no plans to reintroduce conscription.
But since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, senior military and political leaders have warned that Moscow poses a wider threat to the entire continent. Russia itself has conscription.
Many Western experts have warned that if a peace deal ends up forcing Ukraine to hand over a significant portion of the country to Moscow and restrict its armed forces and ability to defend itself, further Russian aggression looks increasingly likely.
As more and more countries weigh up bringing back mandatory service, here is how the UK compares to other selected European nations for conscription and other citizen training schemes.
France
Under Macron’s plans, people aged 18 and 19 will be offered the chance to volunteer in a new 10-month programme from next year, serving on the mainland or in France’s overseas territories.
France’s military comprises around 200,000 active personnel and more than 40,000 reservists, making it the second largest in the European Union, just behind Poland. The government is aiming to increase the number of reservists to 100,000 by 2030.
France ended conscription in 1996 and has no plans to reintroduce it.
Volunteers will serve in France’s mainland and overseas territories only, not in France’s military operations abroad.
Referencing Russia directly, Macron said that France was seeking to boost its defences because the war in Ukraine put Europe at “great risk”.
“The day that you send a signal of weakness to Russia – which for 10 years has made a strategic choice to become an imperial power again, that’s to say advance wherever we are weak – well, it will continue to advance,” he told radio RTL on Tuesday.
Germany
Germany’s army, the Bundeswehr, has around 182,000 troops – the third highest number in Europe.
Like France, Germany is working to attract more recruits with a new voluntary military service.
The plan, which still needs approval from parliament, will require all men aged 18 to fill out a questionnaire detailing their suitability to serve and, from 2027, undergo medical screening.
Germany is aiming to build Europe’s strongest conventional army within five years.
Under its new military service model, it is attempting to add another 20,000 troops over the next year, bringing the total number to between 255,000 and 260,000 in the next decade. This would be supplemented by around 200,000 reservists.
The mandatory questionnaire will be sent to all 18-year-old men from 2026. It will be voluntary for women.
The Government could draw on the questionnaire and medical results to target recruits if Germany decided to implement some form of conscription, which could be considered if the target for troop numbers is missed.
Poland
Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine to its east, has the largest army in Europe, with 216,000 personnel.
Warsaw has announced a new military training programme for men as part of plans to expand its forces to 500,000 over the next decade.
It will also introduce a voluntary training scheme open to all citizens, offering a basic security course, survival training, medical instruction, and cyber-hygiene classes.
The Government is aiming to train around 400,000 people in 2026.
The chief of Poland’s General Staff, Wieslaw Kukula, said the programme had two primary goals – to strengthen the resilience of citizens and communities, and to boost the availability, readiness, and capacity of reserves.
Denmark
Denmark operates a lottery-driven service. While all Danish men from the age of 18 are eligible for service, they must complete a health and written test to determine suitability, and a lottery then determines who serves. In the past decade, nearly all of those serving have volunteered.
Until July, the policy applied to men only, but since 2024, women have also faced being called up for the 11 months of military service. Before then, it was voluntary for women.
About 4,700 Danish men and women undertook military service in 2024. About 24 per cent of them were female volunteers.
The new rules are expected to see the overall number of people doing military service annually rise to 6,500 by 2033.
Denmark has a long tradition of conscription, dating all the way back to the Viking Age. Conscientious objection has been recognised since 1917.
Norway
Norway operates a selective compulsory service. All men and women from the age of 19 (or 18 in times of war) are theoretically eligible for one year of compulsory service, with the possibility of being called in for seven more months until the age of 44 (or 55 during wartime).
However, only 9,000 candidates of around 60,000 each year are chosen to serve based on the results of their physical tests and their motivation. Those not medically fit or who conscientiously object are not required to serve.
Conscripts normally carry out 12 months of initial duty, with the rest to be served in the reserve or annual training with the home guard.
Norway was the first Nato member to introduce gender-neutral conscription, with female conscripts called up in 2015. By 2020, women accounted for a third of new conscripts.
Sweden
Sweden reintroduced conscription in 2017 in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea. All 18-year-olds, both male and female, are required to undergo a military service test, but not all of them are called up.
In 2017, 4,000 (of 13,000 tested) conscripts were then drafted into the military; this doubled to 8,000 in 2024.
Those selected serve for nine to 12 months, including three months of basic training, with a focus on modern warfare, including training in cybersecurity, peacekeeping missions and regional defence in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
The Government has said it wants to increase the number of conscripts to 10,000 per year, building on the 14,850 full-time personnel in the Swedish military.
Individuals with conscientious objections to military service are allowed to apply for weapons-free service in the civilian defence.
All Swedish citizens, male and female, aged between 16 and 70, are part of the country’s “total defence” strategy to prepare for war.
In addition to conscription, Sweden has civilian service, which is aimed at ensuring important parts of society function in the event of a heightened state of alert or war.
At the beginning of 2024, the government activated civilian service for the municipal rescue service and the electricity supply sector.
Anyone who is not subject to military or civilian service can be called up to general compulsory national service, according to Swedish authorities.
Finland
Finnish men aged between 18 and 60 undergo compulsory military service, ranging from 165 to 347 days depending on the role. Most serve six to 12 months.
Women can volunteer for all combat roles within the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) and the percentage of women within the military has been growing in recent years.
The conscription system is tied to Finland’s defence doctrine – “Total Defence” -which aims to prepare the entire population to defend the country in the event of an invasion.
Every year, there are two conscription cycles for service, which range between six and 12 months depending on whether the recruit opts for soldier or officer training.
Lithuania
In response to evolving security threats, Lithuania reinstated conscription in 2015, having transitioned to a professional volunteer force in 2008. However, a lottery ultimately determines who serves.
Most recruits are volunteers, but the remaining spots are assigned by a computer programme selecting them randomly.
Today, service usually lasts nine months for 18 to 23-year-old men, with individuals joining the active reserve for a decade after service.
Women and men outside the mandatory age range can voluntarily enlist.
“Russia has shown it is ready to act aggressively, and we must be prepared to defend our country and region”, President Gitanas Nausėda told AP in January.
“Our commitment to Nato and strengthening our own defence capabilities, including conscription, is essential in deterring any possible aggression.”
Latvia
Latvia reintroduced compulsory military service for all males in January 2024 after voting in a new law in 2023. It had abolished it in 2006. Latvia aims to have 61,000 troops ready for combat.
Men aged 18-27 must serve for 11 months, while women can volunteer. Some men are exempt from conscription, including sole caretakers and guardians of children and those with health issues.
So far, call-ups have comprised volunteers, but are now selected randomly. Men can choose between the armed forces, the national guard, or five years in the national guard reserve.
The Baltic country shares a 180-mile border with Russia to its east. President Rinkevics has repeatedly called on other European nations to follow suit, referencing the threat from Russia and describing Europe as “quite weak” militarily.
“Seeing what is happening in the world, the decision that we took – many other European countries need to follow that,” he said this year.
Estonia
Estonia introduced conscription in 1991 after regaining independence from the Soviet Union.
All male citizens perform mandatory service between the ages of 17 and 27 for eight or 11 months. However, only about 3,500 are trained a year because Estonia lacks the resources to train them all. Roughly half of those are volunteers. The others are selected according to criteria including motivations, skills and abilities.
Conscripts are given the basic knowledge necessary for them to act as specialists in wartime military units.
Around 4,000 conscripts are drafted into military service each year. Women are allowed to sign up voluntarily.
Croatia
Last month, Croatian lawmakers voted to reintroduce mandatory military service from next year.
Approximately 18,000 men will be enlisted each year for two months of annual training after turning 18. Women will be exempt, while conscientious objectors will instead be able to serve three or four months in civil service roles, including disaster response teams.
Croatia had abolished conscription in 2008 in an effort to professionalise its military, but concerns over international tensions prompted a rethink.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, military service is compulsory for men between 18 and 34.
The basic service is 21 weeks long, followed by extra training annually.
The country has held three referendums on the policy – the most recent in 2013 – with voters opting to keep it in place each time.
Women are not subject to compulsory military service, but they may enlist voluntarily, while conscientious objectors can apply to enlist in a civilian service instead.
Belarus
In Belarus, Russia’s close ally, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 27.
Article 57 of the Belarusian Constitution states that citizens have a right to alternative civilian service, but none is provided in practice, according to Amnesty International.
People with higher education are required to serve for a year; those without higher education, for a year and a half.
Conscription is conducted twice a year: in spring and in autumn. Each year, around 10,000 are called up to compulsory military service.
Greece
All male citizens aged between 19 and 45 in Greece are subject to mandatory military service across the army, navy and air force. Women may volunteer.
The service generally lasts 12 months and conscientious objectors on ideological or religious grounds can opt to serve in the civilian service for 15 months.
Conscription is a core component of the country’s defence policy and has been in place, in various guises, since 1912.
Turkey
In Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia, all men from 21 to 41 years of age are required to serve in the military, apart from those exempted on health grounds or who are sole earners for their families.
Gay and trans people are banned, as the military deems them to have “high-level psychological disorders.” The policy has drawn criticism from the European Court of Human Rights.
Conscripts must serve between six and 15 months. They are not deployed to counter-terrorism operations or conflict zones unless “gravely required,” according to authorities.
