What are the African countries with the highest military strength? Though most of Africa is still drowned under abject poverty, the military might of the continent is quite formidable. Over the past few years, the world has been the witness of the African martial feats to deal with the political unrest and the periodic terrorist attacks inside the continent. According to Global Firepower (GFP), Africa is one of the leading military superpowers of the world in the 21st century, despite the growing threats of poverty and political upheavals.
The military prowess of Africa is one of the oldest in the history and is often mentioned in the same breath with the top European countries with highest military strength. However, not all the countries of the African continent are measured with the same military strength. Several parameters are taken into consideration while determining the martial prowess of a nation. But, when it comes to rank the nations based on the military strength, Insider Monkey resides on two determining factors- first the annual expenditure for the military maintenance of the country and secondly, the number of soldiers it have.
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In order to rank the 11 African countries with the highest military strength, we used above mentioned two criteria. The foremost criteria is certainly the total amount of money spent on defense. The military spending reflects how much a country actually spends on acquiring and maintaining its military resources. We obtained this data from Global FirePower (GFP), which is the most credible source of the data concerning military power of the world. The current data reflects the military spending in US Dollars of the current year 2015.
But, at the same time, we are also aware of the fact that military spending across countries may not be the only determinant. For instance richer countries usually have higher wages and they pay large amounts of money to their soldiers. They can even afford to buy resources from the foreign countries. On the other end of the spectrum, there are countries where military service isn’t voluntary. These countries may not pay anything to their soldiers. Having “free soldiers” and low military spending don’t necessarily mean these are weaker countries. That’s why we used number of soldiers as our second criteria. The weight of this criteria in our rankings was 40%.
Based on these leading criteria, we have presented a composite ranking, where each of the countries are ranked primarily on the basis of the military expenditure. However, at the same time, there’s a rank assigned to each of the nation based on the number of soldiers. A composite score is calculated by calculating the weighted average of two rankings. Here are the African countries with the highest military strength:
11. Niger
Total expenditure- $85,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 4,413,986
Ranking based on military expenditure- 11
Ranking based on the number of soldiers-10
Composite score: 10.6
Niger is one of the African nations that is still dealing with the dodgy terrorist group Boko Haram. However, the country still manages to maintain more than 4,000,000 soldiers, among which 5300 are active frontline personnel. As per the current statistics, Niger is one of the leading African superpowers who are still being active to deal with different perilous situation that the country faces.
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10. Uganda
Total expenditure- $280,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 8,513,969
Ranking based on military expenditure- 10
Ranking based on the number of soldiers-8
Composite score: 9.2
The Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) is the renamed version of the former National Resistance Army. They rose to supremacy following the extraordinary feats to push away Lord’s Resistance Army, a children’s army, out of the geographical limits of the country. Depending a lot on the foreign resources, Uganda’s leading contributors are mostly Russia, China and Poland.
9. Tunisia
Total expenditure- $550,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 4,881,813
Ranking based on military expenditure- 8
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 9
Composite score: 8.4
The Tunisian Armed Forces rose to supremacy during the Rwandan genocide where they took active part in the global peacekeeping mission. Also they were successfully managed to keep the Libyan rebels at bay during their civil war in 2011. At present, the main strength of the country lies with its merchandized brigades, armored fighting vehicles & other equipment.
8. Kenya
Total expenditure- $595,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 12,468,138
Ranking based on military expenditure- 7
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 7
Composite score: 7
Kenya is counted among the global superpowers who have been consistently taking an active part in the international peacekeeping missions. With merchant marine as its biggest strength, Kenya is also among the leading African military countries with magnanimous labor force. However, most of its military equipment is sourced from other countries, which, obviously incurs quite a huge cost, but at the same time strengthens the martial prowess of the nation.
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7. Angola
Total expenditure- $4,150, 000,000
Total number of soldiers- 3,039,089
Ranking based on military expenditure- 4
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 11
Composite score: 6.8
The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), succeeded the Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola in 1991, under the leadership of Chief of Staff Geraldo Nunda. Presently, its military components include army , navy and air force. The FAA is one of the most active of the African superpowers, which is being teaming up with the neighboring nations to improve local security and trade. Though the country has not much to do with international peace and security, the government spends around $4,150,000,000 to maintain its incredibly strong military base.
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6. Ethiopia
Total expenditure- $340,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 24,757, 344
Ranking based on military expenditure- 9
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 3
Composite score: 6.6
Being a landlocked country, Ethiopia has nothing much to do with its naval force. Hence, the nation’s military strength is highly focused on its resources of strengthening its army base and air force to an inspiring degree. The current force comprises of few hundred thousand frontline and aircraft personnel.
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5. Morocco
Total expenditure- $3,400,000, 000
Total number of soldiers- 14,403,061
Ranking based on military expenditure- 5
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 5
Composite score: 5
Royal Moroccan Armed Forces is highly dependent on the foreign resources. Probably, that’s the reason they are spending about $3,400,000,000 for maintaining it. They are an active participant of the global peacekeeping missions including Somalia, and is in direct brawl with the POLISARO, a rebel group that is fighting the War of Liberation demanding the independence of Western Sahara.
4. Nigeria
Total expenditure- $2,330, 000,000
Total number of soldiers- 40,707, 659
Ranking based on military expenditure- 6
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 1
Composite score: 4
With the maximum military might in terms of the number of soldiers in different fields, Nigeria definitely deserves a special mention. Comprising of army, navy, and air force, the country’s military strength is highly indebted to its abundant domestic oil supply. Since inception, they are taking an active role in dealing with civil war.
3. South Africa
Total expenditure- $4,610,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 14,093,327
Ranking based on military expenditure- 2
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 6
Composite score: 3.6
South Africa boasts of one of the most modern fighting forces of the continent. Given that , the country’s military might mostly resides on foreign imports, such an expenditure is quite acceptable. It’s been quite some time the country is not involved in global military conflict, though they are keeping a highly advanced force who is engaged with peacekeeping and international cooperation. The aircraft and naval vessels of the country are one of their kinds in terms of equipment and latest technology used. With such a vast land system technology, the South African military force is certainly a military superpower.
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2. Egypt
Total expenditure- $4,400, 000, 000
Total number of soldiers- 35,305,381
Ranking based on military expenditure- 3
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 2
Composite score: 2.6
The sheer enormity of the Egyptian army has been actively involves with fighting extremism in the borders over the past few years. With 35,305,381active members in military, Egypt presently finds itself as one of the leading military super power of Africa. In terms of expenditure, Egypt is the third leading super power, yet the might is quite formidable. Its role during the Egyptian Revolution is highly commendable. Presently, its active participation with the international security missions is widely commendable.
1. Algeria
Total expenditure- $10,570,000,000
Total number of soldiers- 17,249, 119
Ranking based on military expenditure- 1
Ranking based on the number of soldiers- 4
Composite score: 2.2
In terms of military expenditure, Algeria undoubtedly tops the list, though Algerian People’s National Army (APNA) has its main focus on navy and air force. The huge maritime border of Algeria contributes to the development of its gigantic naval forces. The benefit of oil reserves also serves up to its fuel required for power tanks, naval vessels and aircraft. However, the combat capabilities of the APNA in defence of the country have still remained untested, since they have not showed any significant feats after the War of Independence in 1962. But, there’s no doubt that the country maintains a reasonably well-equipped force to deal with foreign invasions and that is the African Country with the Highest Military Strength.
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While relying on facts and figures, the inquisitive minds of Insider Monkey also tread a little further through the pages of history. And, we are simply amazed to find that military forces of the African nations, have always been active to restrain the socio-political unrest knocking the continent time and again.