By Brian Okoth
Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria have the strongest armed forces in Africa as of June 2025, the Global Firepower Index of 2025 shows.
The report ranks the different countries' militaries based on the number of uniformed personnel, their level of training, and air force capabilities, which include the number of fighter jets and aerial system.
The other parameter that the armed forces are measured on is their defence capabilities on land.
Under this parameter, the countries' vehicles, military tanks, towed artillery and rocket launchers are also considered.
Egypt has 1.2 million armed personnel
For countries that have large waterbodies, their naval power is also measured.
Under this parameter, the number of warships, submarines, water patrol equipment and other naval technologies are considered.
A country's economic position as well as budgetary allocation to the armed forces is the other factor that the Global Firepower report cited as a parameter for ranking militaries in Africa.
Egypt, which has the strongest military on the continent, has 1.2 million people in the armed forces, with 440,000 actively involved in military operations.
Egypt's large number of military vehicles
The North African nation of 115 million people has 685,000 soldiers seconded to the army in charge of land operations, while 50,000 are attached to the air force, and 32,500 to the navy.
Egypt also has around 480,000 soldiers as part of reserve personnel, and 300,000 paramilitary forces.
Africa's leading military force has over 41,000 vehicles for land operations, more than 1,000 self-propelled artillery, over 3,600 military tanks and at least 960 towed artillery.
In its air force, Egypt has more than 1,000 aircraft, including 238 fighter jets, 348 helicopters and 345 trainer jets.
Algeria comes second with 610,000 soldiers
In its navy, Africa's leading armed force has considerable equipment, including eight submarines and two helicopter carriers, that can haul nearly 236,000 tonnes of cargo.
Algeria, which has Africa's second-strongest military, has a total of 610,000 soldiers, with 325,000 of them currently active in the forces.
Algeria's army, in charge of land operations, has 182,500 personnel, followed by its air force at 14,000 and navy at 6,000.
Paramilitaries are around 150,000 in the North African country of 46 million people.
Algeria's strength on land
On land, Algeria has 26,000 military vehicles, nearly 1,500 tanks, 224 self-propelled artillery and slightly over 480 towed artillery.
Algeria has a total of 608 military aircraft, including 102 fighter jets, 87 trainer jets, 299 helicopters and 10 special-mission aircraft.
Nigeria, which ranks third among Africa's top militaries, has a total of 280,000 soldiers.
Nigeria's nearly 9,000 military vehicles
At least 230,000 of them are actively engaged in operations.
The army accounts for 65,000 soldiers in the Nigerian military, followed by 15,000 air force personnel, and 5,500 navy personnel.
The West African nation has around 50,000 paramilitary forces.
On land, Nigeria has a total of 8,962 vehicles, 330 tanks, 40 self-propelled artillery and 339 towed artillery.
Special-mission jets
In the air, Nigeria's military equipment include 14 fighter jets, 66 helicopters, 11 special-mission jets and 28 trainer jets.
In total, the West African nation has 163 military aircraft.
Nigeria's navy has few facilities, with only 109 patrol vessels listed.
South Africa, which ranks fourth, has nearly 151,000 military personnel, with just under half of that figure actively involved in military operations.
South Africa's rocket artillery
South Africa's army has 62,800 personnel, followed by the air force at 13,815, and the navy at nearly 7,900. The country also has 50,000 paramilitary forces.
On land, South Africa has 18,692 military vehicles, 252 tanks, self-propelled artillery, 134 towed artillery and 101 rocket artillery.
In its air force, the country of 63 million people, has a total of 182 aircraft, including 87 helicopters, 81 trainer jets and two fighter jets.
South Africa's navy has three submarines, 33 patrol vessels and two mine warfare.
Ethiopia rounds out top five
Ethiopia rounds out Africa's top five militaries, with a total manpower of 162,000 soldiers.
Seventy-five thousand Ethiopian soldiers are seconded to the army, while the navy has 10,000 soldiers, and the air force has 5,000. Ethiopia does not have any known paramilitary force.
On land, Ethiopia has nearly 7,300 military vehicles, 338 tanks, 35 self-propelled artillery, 309 towed artillery and 40 rocket artillery.
In its air force, Ethiopia, a country of 129 million people, has a total of 103 aircraft, including 33 helicopters, 34 trainer jets and 25 fighter jets.
DRC, Sudan in the top 10
Angola, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Libya round out Africa's 10 most powerful militaries.
Other countries, whose militaries are featured in the top 20 in Africa, are Kenya, Chad, Mozambique, Tunisia, Tanzania, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Zambia and Ghana in that particular order.
Among the lowest-ranked military powers in Africa are Benin, the Central African Republic, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Below is the ranking of Africa's military forces, from the most powerful to the least powerful, based on Global Firepower Index data of 2025:
1. Egypt
2. Algeria
3. Nigeria
4. South Africa
5. Ethiopia
6. Angola
7. Morocco
8. DRC
9. Sudan
10. Libya
11. Kenya
12. Chad
13. Mozambique
14. Tunisia
15. Tanzania
16. Cameroon
17. Côte d'Ivoire
18. Mali
19. Zambia
20. Ghana
21. Zimbabwe
22. South Sudan
23. Uganda
24. Namibia
25. Niger
26. Eritrea
27. Republic of Congo
28. Botswana
29. Mauritania
30. Senegal
31. Burkina Faso
32. Madagascar
33. Gabon
34. Liberia
35. Sierra Leone
36. Somalia
37. Central African Republic
38. Benin
'Unbiased look' into military strength
The Global Firepower, which tracks defence-related information of 145 countries globally, says that it "makes use of over 60 factors in our in-house formula to determine a given nation's power index."
The US-based organisation further says that its ranking "allows smaller, more technologically-advanced nations to compete with larger, lesser-developed ones."
To level the playing field, the Global Firepower says: "Some bonuses and penalties are added for refinement that, in the end, we hope presents an unbiased look into the potential conventional military strength of a world power."
In Africa, the Global Firepower analysed 38 out of the continent's 54 countries, with no explanation given on the omission of some 16 countries, including The Gambia, Togo and Malawi.
