Types of intelligence agency
Every acknowledged intelligence body of the 24 nations, placed in one of thirteen types in five groups by its mandate. The figure and bar are how many of the 24 have one.
Coordination
2 types
- Coordinator or national assessment9/24
- Counter-terrorism or fusion centre2/24
Civilian intelligence
3 types
- Foreign intelligence13/24
- Domestic security and counter-intelligence16/24
- Combined foreign and domestic service10/24
Technical intelligence
3 types
- Signals and cryptology9/24
- National cyber security centre4/24
- Imagery, geospatial and space2/24
Military intelligence
3 types
- Defence intelligence17/24
- Single-service intelligence4/24
- Military counter-intelligence5/24
Law enforcement and departmental
2 types
- Criminal and financial intelligence4/24
- Departmental analysis1/24
Patterns across the communities
What the types show when the communities are laid side by side. A nation's flag means the pattern holds for it; the nations it does not hold for are named under each.
13 of 24
Foreign and domestic intelligence are separate services
The common model: one service collects abroad, another counters threats at home.
Not: Japan, South Korea, Canada, Türkiye, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Iran, North Korea
9 of 24
One civilian service does both
A single service for foreign and domestic intelligence, with no separate foreign service.
Not: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Africa, Russia, Israel, Ukraine
9 of 24
A separate signals agency
Interception and cryptology in an agency of their own, not inside a broader service.
Not: France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Russia, China, Taiwan, Iran, North Korea
9 of 24
A coordinator or national assessment body
A centre that leads the community or writes the assessment for the head of government.
Not: Germany, South Korea, India, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, China, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, Iran, North Korea
17 of 24
A defence intelligence agency
The armed forces' all-source intelligence, under the ministry of defence or the joint staff.
Not: Germany, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, China, Iran
5 of 24
Military counter-intelligence of its own
A separate agency protects the armed forces; elsewhere the domestic service or defence intelligence does it.
Not: United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, Italy, India, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Russia, China, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, North Korea
3 of 4
The national cyber centre sits inside the signals agency
Where a national cyber security centre is acknowledged, whether it is part of the signals agency.
Not: France
Whom each agency answers to
The body directly above the nation's principal agency of each kind, past any intelligence coordinator: a ministry, the armed forces, or the head of state or government.
Whom foreign intelligence answers to 13 nations
- Foreign ministry 2
- Defence and the armed forces 1
- Head of state or government 10
Whom domestic security answers to 16 nations
- Interior, home affairs or justice 9
- Head of state or government 7
Whom the signals agency answers to 9 nations
- Foreign ministry 1
- Defence and the armed forces 4
- Head of state or government 4
Agency types by nation
A filled cell means the nation acknowledges an agency of that type; hover it for the agency's name. An empty one means none is acknowledged as a separate agency, which may mean the function sits inside another body.
| Coordination | Civilian intelligence | Technical intelligence | Military intelligence | Law enforcement and departmental | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nation | Coordinator or national assessment | Counter-terrorism or fusion centre | Foreign intelligence | Domestic security and counter-intelligence | Combined foreign and domestic service | Signals and cryptology | National cyber security centre | Imagery, geospatial and space | Defence intelligence | Single-service intelligence | Military counter-intelligence | Criminal and financial intelligence | Departmental analysis |
| United States | |||||||||||||
| United Kingdom | |||||||||||||
| Australia | |||||||||||||
| France | |||||||||||||
| Germany | |||||||||||||
| Japan | |||||||||||||
| South Korea | |||||||||||||
| Canada | |||||||||||||
| Italy | |||||||||||||
| India | |||||||||||||
| Türkiye | |||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia | |||||||||||||
| Brazil | |||||||||||||
| Indonesia | |||||||||||||
| Mexico | |||||||||||||
| Argentina | |||||||||||||
| South Africa | |||||||||||||
| Russia | |||||||||||||
| China | |||||||||||||
| Israel | |||||||||||||
| Ukraine | |||||||||||||
| Taiwan | |||||||||||||
| Iran | |||||||||||||
| North Korea | |||||||||||||
Communities
Each nation's intelligence bodies and the governing bodies above them, as an icicle (equal widths: most agencies publish no headcount). Grey bars are state and government bodies.