 Following the 1991 – 95 war defence spending and CAF size have been in constant decline. As of 2005 military spending was an estimated 2.39 % of the country's GDP, which placed Croatia 64th in a ranking of all countries. Since 2005 the budget was kept below 2 % of GDP, down from the record high of 11.1 % in 1994. Traditionally relying on a large number of conscripts, CAF also went through a period of reforms focused on downsizing, restructuring and professionalisation in the years prior to Croatia's accession to NATO in April 2009. According to a presidential decree issued in 2006 the CAF is set to employ 18,100 active duty military personnel, 3,000 civilians and 2,000 voluntary conscripts between the ages of 18 and 30 in peacetime.
