Table 1
Overview: Countries’ characteristics, design and use of military conscription.
| ESTONIA | FINLAND | LITHUANIA | NORWAY | SWEDEN | SWITZERLAND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (Eurostat, 2021) | 1 330 068 | 5 533 793 | 2 795 680 | 5 391 369 | 10 379 295 | 8 667 088 |
| Conscription established4 | 1920–1939/1991– | 1878–1905/1919– | 1918–1940/1990–2008/2015– | 1814– | 1901–2010/2017– | 1848– |
| Recruitment type | Mandatory for men, voluntary for women | Mandatory for men, voluntary for women | Mandatory for men, voluntary for women, supplemented by volunteers | Selective gender-neutral | Selective gender-neutral supplemented by volunteers | Mandatory for men, voluntary for women |
| Length of basic military service (rounded) | 8 or 11 months | 5.5, 8.5 or 11.5 months | 9 months | 6–18 months | 6–15 months | 5 months |
| Conscripts in basic military training 2020 (rounded) | 3 100 | 21 000 | 3 700 | 8 000 | 5 000 | 17 000 |
| Approximate share of conscripts from a younger age cohort (18–early twenties, men and women) | 18% | 33% | 10% | 11% | 5% | 15% |
| Number of conscripts per 100,000 inhabitants (rounded) | 236 | 379 | 135 | 148 | 48 | 196 |
| Women | Voluntary since 2013 | Voluntary since 1995 | Voluntary since 2011 | Mandatory since 2016 | Mandatory since 2018 (supplemented by volunteers) | Voluntary, since 2005 the same right as men |
| Female participation of conscripts (rounded) | 1% | 4% | 4% | 25% | 20% | 1% |
| NATO membership | Yes, since 2004 | Yes, since April 2023 | Yes, since 2004 | Yes, since 1949 | No, applied in May 2022 | No |
| EU membership | Yes, since 2004 | Yes, since 1995 | Yes, since 2004 | No | Yes, since 1995 | No |
Figure 1
Will to fight in European countries.6
Figure 2
Different types of conscription systems in the six selected countries.