The People's Militia is a branch of the armed forces of Burkina Faso, a small landlocked country in West Africa. It is a paramilitary militia, a part-time force of conscripted men and women between the age of 20 and 35, trained in both military and civil tasks and serving two years each. It numbers about 45,000 fighters, about 2.25% of the total population in the 20-35 age group.