Increase in Saxon recruits to the Bundeswehr

The number of Saxon recruits to the Bundeswehr has risen in recent years. In 2023, 673 soldiers were recruited in Saxony: 585 men and 88 women. In the previous years, there were 632 (2022) and 554 (2021). This is according to an overview provided by the Federal Ministry of Defense on request. The number of new male and female soldiers in 2019 was higher than last year at 794.

It is striking that the proportion of underage recruits in Saxony has risen in recent years. According to the figures, around one in seven new soldiers in the state was only 17 years old in 2023. By comparison, in 2020 it was around one in 15. Saxony is also above the national average for underage recruits. In 2023, almost one in nine new soldiers across Germany fell into this group.

The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed in the federal coalition agreement that training and service in the armed forces should be reserved for soldiers of legal age. The Ministry of Defense has now stated that 17-year-old applicants will only be recruited "if they pass a comprehensive physical and psychological aptitude test". Military training also takes into account extensive protective regulations for minors: "In concrete terms, this means: no participation in guard duty or missions abroad, use of weapons for training purposes only."

In total, 15,935 men and 2,867 women joined the Bundeswehr last year, making a total of 18,802 recruits. This is slightly more than in the previous year: in 2022, the year of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the number of new recruits rose by around twelve percent to 18,775. However, the pre-corona level was not reached. In 2019, 20,170 soldiers began their service.

After an increase in the previous year to 17%, the proportion of women fell again slightly to 15%. In Saxony, it was below the national average at around 13 percent.