The following is a list of paramilitary organisations.
Agency
See main article: Public Force of Costa Rica.
The Public Force of Costa Rica is responsible for law enforcement duties, acting as both a civilian police force and gendarmerie. In addition to ordinary policing, it is responsible for border patrol, counter-insurgency, riot control, tourism security, and coast guard duties.
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh Ansar | 12 February 1948 | Gendarmerie | Second largest paramilitary force in the world | 6.2 million | [2] | |
| Border Guard Bangladesh | Border surveillance and internal security personnel | 70 thousand | ||||
| Bangladesh Coast Guard | 14 February 1995 | |||||
| Bangladesh National Cadet Corps | 23 March 1979 |
See main article: Paramilitary forces of China.
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Armed Police | 19 June 1982 | Gendarmerie | 1.5 million | |||
| Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps | 1954 | State-owned enterprise Paramilitary organisation | unknown, officially 2.6 million employees | |||
| Militia of China | 1927 | Militia for general national defense mobilization | 8,000,000[3] | |||
| Maritime Militia of China | 1949-1950 | Naval militia | Unknown. Possibly no official members. |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Police Agency | 5 July 1972 | Law enforcement agency | |||
| Thunder Squad | 1985 | Localized Police tactical unit | 200 | ||
| Special Operations Group | Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit | ||||
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Aid Service | 1952 | Emergency Response/Search and Rescue Civil Agency | 112 full time; 3,634 adult members and 3,232 cadet members | |||
| Government Flying Service | 1993 | Paramilitary Law Enforcement related Air support services | 335 | |||
| Hong Kong Police Force | Police force | For subdivisions, see Structure of the Hong Kong Police Force. | Disciplined officers: 33,210 (2023)[4] Auxiliary officers: 4,501 (2021),[5] Unsworn: 4,735 (2023) | |||
| Special Duties Unit | 23 July 1974 | Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit | Over 120[6] | |||
| Counter Terrorism Response Unit | July 2009 | Anti-terrorism patrol-type Police tactical unit | 141 [7] |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assam Rifles | 1835 | Border Guarding and law enforcement force | 63,747 | [8] | |
| CRPF | 27 July 1937 | A central police force whose job is to assist state government, police or other agencies at time of their needs | 313,634 | [9] | |
| ITBP | 1962 | Border Guarding and Law enforcement force which operates on the Indo - Chinese borders | 89,432 | [10] | |
| Sashastra Seema Bal | 20 December 1963 | Border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan | |||
| BSF | 1 December 1965 | Largest border guarding force anywhere in the world | 292,000 | [11] | |
| CISF | 10 March 1969 | Guard Sensitive National Assets | Protection and Security | 1,90,000 | |
| NSG | 16 October 1984 | Counter-terrorism force | this force recruits its personnel from the police, paramilitary and Army from all around the India with the maximum service tenure of five years. |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detachment 88 | Police tactical unit | 1,300[12] | ||||
| Mobile Brigade Corps | Police tactical unit | 34,250 [13] | ||||
| Pancasila Youth | Irregular military Semi-militarized wings of political parties | Allegedly affiliated with the Indonesian political party Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra)[14] | 3,000,000 | [15] [16] [17] |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Police Agency | Law enforcement agency | 7,995 (2020)[18] | ||||
| Special Assault Team | 1977 | Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit | Approx. 300 |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Border Guards | Border surveillance and internal security personnel | |||||
| Worker-Peasant Red Guards | January 1959 | Paramilitary militia | 5 million |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Police Agency | 1 August 1991 | Law enforcement agency | 126,227 [19] | |||
| Special Operations Unit | Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit | 25 July 1987 | Auxiliary unit | 60,000 (2007) | [21] | ||
| Special Action Force |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border Patrol Police | ||||||
| Marine Paramilitary Task Force | ||||||
| Paramilitary Marine Regiment, Royal Thai Navy | Also known as Thahan Phran Marines | |||||
| Thahan Phran | Also known as Thai Rangers | |||||
| Village Scouts | ||||||
| Volunteer Defense Corps | 10 February 1954 | Security Forces | Unknown | [22] |
| Name | Active Since | Type | Comments | Size | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arma dei Carabinieri | 13 July 1814 | Gendarmerie | 110.000 (2023) | |||
| Guardia di Finanza | 1 October 1774 | Gendarmerie | 68.000 (2015) |
See also Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia.
Various unorganized non-governmental Militia organizations in the United States (that are not associated with the U.S. military, law enforcement agencies, nor state defense forces in any way). There are many others totaling at around 334 unorganized militia groups as of 2011[26]
Regional separatist group in Aceh, Indonesia. Also known as Aceh Security Disturbance Movement.
Group in North Burma which occupies most of Kachin State.[27]
Georgian group which carried out anti-Russian attacks in the 1990s.
There are a number of paramilitary organisations in the United Kingdom, most of them operate in and around Northern Ireland and are a continuation of the various paramilitary groups which operated in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Apart from these, there are a small number of white supremacist paramilitary organisations which operate in the United Kingdom.
Scientology group with roots in naval tradition. Dress in uniforms, live communally in barracks, and are organized around naval ranks. Some dispute whether it is paramilitary.