A strong military plays a large role in keeping the peace and protecting its country’s citizens. According to the United Nations, the hub for terrorism is transitioning from the Middle East and Northern Africa to sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the threat of terrorism, it’s increasingly important for African nations to maintain strong militaries. Today, we’re taking a close look at the size of the armies in African countries. (Also see which African countries have the most military vehicles.)
24/7 Wall St. identified a list of the African countries with the most military personnel by reviewing data from the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ordered countries in descending order based on the total number of military personnel. When countries were tied with the same amount of military personnel, rank was chosen by which country had the higher level of active military personnel. We also included supplemental information regarding active personnel, reserves, total population, fit-for-service, and overall military strength score.
Here is a look at the African countries with the most military manpower:
Why Are We Covering This?
Understanding the military dynamics of Africa is important due to the continent’s strategic geopolitical significance. The continent is known for some instability, and military power is one way of ensuring both political and economic stability. Many African nations, including the ones on this list, are growing rapidly. The continued stability of this region is crucial.
38. Benin
- Total military personnel: 4,750
- Active personnel: 4,750
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 14,219,908
- Fit-for-service: 3,085,720
- Military strength score: 3.8912 – #141 out of 145
37. Liberia
- Total military personnel: 7,000
- Active personnel: 1,500
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 5,358,483
- Fit-for-service: 1,938,211
- Military strength score: 3.7262 – #140 out of 145
36. Gabon
- Total military personnel: 7,300
- Active personnel: 4,800
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 2,397,368
- Fit-for-service: 520,229
- Military strength score: 2.9517 – #132 out of 145
35. Republic of the Congo
- Total military personnel: 11,000
- Active personnel: 8,500
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 5,677,493
- Fit-for-service: 1,260,403
- Military strength score: 2.7282 – #122 out of 145
34. Central African Republic
- Total military personnel: 11,000
- Active personnel: 10,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 5,552,228
- Fit-for-service: 1,232,595
- Military strength score: 3.5316 – #137 out of 145
33. Sierra Leone
- Total military personnel: 13,000
- Active personnel: 13,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 8,908,040
- Fit-for-service: 1,175,861
- Military strength score: 3.5433 – #138 out of 145
32. Mozambique
- Total military personnel: 14,200
- Active personnel: 11,200
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 32,513,805
- Fit-for-service: 7,575,717
- Military strength score: 1.8377 – #92 out of 145
31. Ghana
![Ghana Armed Forces u2013 Military Sergeant Soldier by Flickr: [2]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Ghana_Armed_Forces_%E2%80%93_Military_Sergeant_Soldier.jpg "Ghana Armed Forces u2013 Military Sergeant Soldier by Flickr: [2]")
- Total military personnel: 15,500
- Active personnel: 15,500
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 33,846,114
- Fit-for-service: 9,747,681
- Military strength score: 2.2358 – #113 out of 145
30. Zambia
- Total military personnel: 16,350
- Active personnel: 15,150
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 20,216,029
- Fit-for-service: 4,022,990
- Military strength score: 1.9851 – #97 out of 145
29. Burkina Faso
- Total military personnel: 16,500
- Active personnel: 12,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 22,489,126
- Fit-for-service: 5,914,640
- Military strength score: 2.8501 – #127 out of 145
28. Senegal
- Total military personnel: 17,000
- Active personnel: 17,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 18,384,660
- Fit-for-service: 3,989,471
- Military strength score: 2.9117 – #130 out of 145
27. Somalia
- Total military personnel: 17,000
- Active personnel: 15,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 12,693,796
- Fit-for-service: 1,751,744
- Military strength score: 3.9006 – #142 out of 145
26. Namibia
- Total military personnel: 18,000
- Active personnel: 13,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 2,777,232
- Fit-for-service: 397,144
- Military strength score: 2.7652 – #124 out of 145
25. Botswana
- Total military personnel: 21,000
- Active personnel: 21,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 2,417,596
- Fit-for-service: 609,234
- Military strength score: 2.8353 – #126 out of 145
24. Madagascar
- Total military personnel: 21,600
- Active personnel: 13,500
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 28,812,195
- Fit-for-service: 7,779,293
- Military strength score: 3.0655 – #133 out of 145
23. Ivory Coast
- Total military personnel: 27,500
- Active personnel: 22,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 29,344,847
- Fit-for-service: 7,688,350
- Military strength score: 1.9869 – #98 out of 145
22. Niger
- Total military personnel: 30,000
- Active personnel: 25,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 25,396,840
- Fit-for-service: 5,104,765
- Military strength score: 2.5988 – #121 out of 145
21. Chad
- Total military personnel: 38,250
- Active personnel: 33,250
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 18,523,165
- Fit-for-service: 3,741,679
- Military strength score: 1.8607 – #93 out of 145
20. Mali
- Total military personnel: 44,800
- Active personnel: 40,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 21,359,722
- Fit-for-service: 4,165,146
- Military strength score: 2.1115 – #106 out of 145
19. Zimbabwe
- Total military personnel: 50,800
- Active personnel: 29,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 15,418,674
- Fit-for-service: 3,345,852
- Military strength score: 2.0352 – #101 out of 145
18. Cameroon
- Total military personnel: 52,500
- Active personnel: 40,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 30,135,732
- Fit-for-service: 6,057,282
- Military strength score: 2.0599 – #104 out of 145
17. Uganda
- Total military personnel: 55,000
- Active personnel: 45,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 47,729,952
- Fit-for-service: 9,593,720
- Military strength score: 2.2405 – #114 out of 145
16. Kenya
- Total military personnel: 75,000
- Active personnel: 50,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 57,052,004
- Fit-for-service: 13,749,533
- Military strength score: 1.7629 – #89 out of 145
15. Tunisia
- Total military personnel: 101,800
- Active personnel: 89,800
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 11,976,182
- Fit-for-service: 5,149,758
- Military strength score: 1.2881 – #74 out of 145
14. Mauritania
- Total military personnel: 102,540
- Active personnel: 31,540
- Reserves: 66,000
- Total population: 4,244,878
- Fit-for-service: 1,158,852
- Military strength score: 2.9277 – #131 out of 145
13. Tanzania
- Total military personnel: 113,500
- Active personnel: 27,000
- Reserves: 80,000
- Total population: 65,642,682
- Fit-for-service: 6,498,626
- Military strength score: 2.0587 – #103 out of 145
12. Angola
- Total military personnel: 117,000
- Active personnel: 107,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 35,981,281
- Fit-for-service: 3,598,128
- Military strength score: 0.8702 – #55 out of 145
11. Libya
- Total military personnel: 132,000
- Active personnel: 32,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 7,252,573
- Fit-for-service: 3,241,900
- Military strength score: 1.4449 – #79 out of 145
10. South Africa
- Total military personnel: 150,585
- Active personnel: 71,235
- Reserves: 29,350
- Total population: 58,048,332
- Fit-for-service: 14,395,986
- Military strength score: 0.4632 – #33 out of 145
9. Ethiopia
- Total military personnel: 162,000
- Active personnel: 162,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 116,462,712
- Fit-for-service: 34,705,888
- Military strength score: 0.7938 – #49 out of 145
8. South Sudan
- Total military personnel: 185,000
- Active personnel: 185,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 12,118,379
- Fit-for-service: 3,877,881
- Military strength score: 2.4376 – #119 out of 145
7. Sudan
- Total military personnel: 194,500
- Active personnel: 92,000
- Reserves: 85,000
- Total population: 49,197,555
- Fit-for-service: 16,677,971
- Military strength score: 1.4119 – #76 out of 145
6. Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total military personnel: 207,580
- Active personnel: 166,580
- Reserves: 31,000
- Total population: 111,859,928
- Fit-for-service: 30,425,900
- Military strength score: 1.2491 – #73 out of 145
5. Eritrea
- Total military personnel: 250,000
- Active personnel: 120,000
- Reserves: 130,000
- Total population: 6,274,796
- Fit-for-service: 1,581,249
- Military strength score: 2.4152 – #117 out of 145
4. Nigeria
- Total military personnel: 280,000
- Active personnel: 230,000
- Reserves: 0
- Total population: 230,842,743
- Fit-for-service: 88,181,928
- Military strength score: 0.5619 – #39 out of 145
3. Morocco
- Total military personnel: 395,800
- Active personnel: 195,800
- Reserves: 150,000
- Total population: 37,067,420
- Fit-for-service: 15,123,507
- Military strength score: 1.0081 – #61 out of 145
2. Algeria
- Total military personnel: 610,000
- Active personnel: 325,000
- Reserves: 135,000
- Total population: 44,758,398
- Fit-for-service: 18,261,426
- Military strength score: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145
1. Egypt
- Total military personnel: 1,220,000
- Active personnel: 440,000
- Reserves: 480,000
- Total population: 109,546,720
- Fit-for-service: 37,684,072
- Military strength score: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
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