Bundeswehr Personnel 2025: Full Breakdown of Germany’s Military and Civilian Force Structure
Germany’s Bundeswehr in 2025 fields 182,064 soldiers and 80,908 civilians: total personnel numbers, service breakdown, female share, CIR growth, and Zeitenwende strategy—all updated quarterly.
💡TL;DR:
As of March 2025, the Bundeswehr comprises 182,064 military and 80,908 civilian personnel—totaling 262,972. This marks a continued expansion under Germany’s Zeitenwende defense shift, with significant growth in cyber, logistics, and medical services. Women now account for 13.6% of uniformed personnel and 39% of the civilian workforce.
Bookmark this article for regular updates and full dataset access. This page is updated quarterly to reflect the Bundeswehr’s evolving personnel structure.
Bundeswehr Total Personnel Numbers
(March 2025)
Germany's total defense workforce in 2025 reflects a marked increase compared to previous years, driven by Zeitenwende investments in full-spectrum readiness. The following table summarizes the most recent personnel count across military and civilian categories.
Source: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, 31. März 2025
| Total Personnel (March 2025) | Count |
|---|---|
| Military (Uniformed) | 182,064 |
| Civilian | 80,908 |
| Total Bundeswehr Workforce | 262,972 |
Germany’s reversal of post-Cold War downsizing continues, aligning personnel growth with NATO readiness, territorial defense, and cyber-resilience priorities.
Force Composition by Branch and Command
The Bundeswehr is organized into distinct services and support commands, each with a mix of uniformed and civilian personnel. This breakdown shows how manpower is distributed across branches and administrative structures.
| Area | Military | Civilian |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Ministry of Defence | 1,110 | 1,877 |
| Subordinate Commands | 7,263 | 2,370 |
| Joint Support Service (Streitkräftebasis) | 23,507 | 6,313 |
| Central Medical Service | 20,572 | 4,460 |
| Army (Heer) | 61,332 | 2,430 |
| Air Force (Luftwaffe) | 27,741 | 4,634 |
| Navy (Marine) | 15,437 | 1,821 |
| Cyber and Information Domain (CIR) | 13,925 | 1,810 |
| Logistics / Infrastructure / Environmental Services | 1,015 | 32,763 |
| Equipment, IT, and Utilization | 1,922 | 11,596 |
| Personnel Directorate (incl. Universities) | 7,568 | 10,271 |
| Other (Chaplains, Legal, Support Areas) | 672 | 563 |
Soldier Categories: Career, Temporary, and Voluntary
Germany maintains a hybrid force model that blends long-term professional soldiers with time-limited and voluntary service members. This structure offers flexibility while ensuring a stable core of experienced personnel.
| Status | Count |
| Temporary-Career Soldiers (SaZ) | 112,365 |
| Career Soldiers (Berufssoldaten) | 58,512 |
| Voluntary Military Service (FWDL) | 10,964 |
| Voluntary Service in Homeland Defense | 223 |
The majority serve as temporary-career soldiers, reflecting Germany’s long-term hybrid force model combining standing units with flexible voluntary components.
Women in the Bundeswehr: Military Roles (2025)
Gender integration in the Bundeswehr has progressed significantly since the early 2000s. As of 2025, women make up over 13% of the military force, with notable representation in the medical and cyber branches.
Total Female Soldiers: 24,793
Percentage of Military Force: 13.6%
By Branch:
| Branch | Female Personnel |
|---|---|
| Army (Heer) | 4,761 |
| Air Force (Luftwaffe) | 2,839 |
| Navy (Marine) | 1,731 |
| Cyber & Information (CIR) | 1,458 |
| Joint Support Service | 2,686 |
| Medical Service | 8,441 |
| Ministry & Other Areas | 2,798 |
| Support Services (Pilot Data) | 79 |
By Rank Group:
| Rank | Count |
|---|---|
| Officers | 7,096 |
| Senior NCOs (mit Portepee) | 8,714 |
| NCOs (ohne Portepee) | 3,441 |
| Enlisted (Mannschaften) | 5,542 |
Women in Civilian Defense Roles (2025)
Total Female Civilian Employees: 31,778
Percentage of Civilian Workforce: ~39%
In the civilian segment, women hold nearly 40% of all positions across administration, engineering, IT, and procurement.
By Role:
| Employment Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Civil Servants (Beamte) | 10,583 |
| – Higher Service | 2,191 |
| – Senior Service | 4,393 |
| – Intermediate Service | 3,978 |
| – Basic Service | 21 |
| Contract Employees | 19,205 |
| Trainees & Interns | 1,990 |
Civilian women increasingly serve in leadership roles across IT, defense engineering, administration, environmental science, and procurement.
Why Bundeswehr Structure Matters in 2025
Germany’s Bundeswehr is undergoing a doctrinal and structural transformation under the Zeitenwende initiative, launched in 2022. The 2025 personnel architecture reflects:
- Pivot to Territorial Defense: Shift from expeditionary logistics to integrated homeland readiness and alliance-based posture.
- Growth in Cyber & ISR: CIR branch expansion signals investment in information warfare, electronic defense, and digital sovereignty.
- Logistics Resilience: Major civilian growth in infrastructure, maintenance, and climate adaptation supports wartime mobilization capacity.
- Gender Integration: Women now form over a third of Bundeswehr’s workforce, with rising leadership share in both command and civil administration.
Germany’s evolving force mix complements NATO’s eastern flank architecture, contributing to deterrence in the Baltic, High North, and Black Sea theatres.
Tracking Future Changes
- This guide is updated quarterly in sync with Bundeswehr publications.
- Follow Großwald for daily featured alerts and subscribe to Großwald Curated for weekly strategic recaps.
- Check Bundeswehr's official newsroom for primary‑source press releases.
FAQ: Bundeswehr Manpower, Gender Share, and CIR
How many people serve in the Bundeswehr in 2025?
As of March 2025, the Bundeswehr includes 182,064 uniformed soldiers and 80,908 civilian employees—totaling 262,972 personnel.
What percentage of Bundeswehr soldiers are professional career personnel?
Approximately 32% of the Bundeswehr’s military force consists of career soldiers (Berufssoldaten), with the remainder serving under time-limited contracts (SaZ) or in voluntary service.
What share of Bundeswehr personnel are women?
Women make up 13.6% of military personnel and approximately 39% of civilian roles.
What is the CIR branch of the Bundeswehr?
The Cyber and Information Domain Service (CIR) is responsible for cyber operations, IT security, electronic warfare, and intelligence integration—making it a critical pillar of modern military posture.
How is the Bundeswehr adapting under Zeitenwende?
The Bundeswehr is expanding its force size, emphasizing territorial defense, boosting cyber capability, and modernizing logistics and leadership structures to meet NATO commitments and emerging threats.
What is the total budget allocated for Bundeswehr personnel in 2025?
While exact personnel cost breakdowns are not public, personnel-related expenditures represent a significant portion of Germany’s €52 billion defense budget for 2025, reflecting both salary increases and expanded recruitment.
Has the Bundeswehr met its recruitment targets for 2025?
As of March 2025, the Bundeswehr is on track to meet its recruitment goals, especially in technical and medical branches. However, shortfalls persist in cyber operations and certain NCO categories.
How often is this article updated?
This page is updated quarterly or when the Bundesministerium der Verteidigung issues a new personnel dataset.
Further Großwald Reading
- NATO Exercises 2025: Complete Guide to Allied Readiness
- Zeitenwende Focus Area: Germany’s Defense Pivot
- Großwald Perspectives: 100B later - Fixing the Bundeswehr wasn't on budget
About Großwald
Großwald is an independent intelligence platform delivering high-resolution insights into European defense strategy, procurement, and military transformation. We serve defense professionals, policy analysts, and institutions with verified data and strategic clarity—free of corporate influence or government bias.
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