According to Business Insider, of the 15 weakest militaries in the world in 2018, there were 9 African countries. This goes to show that when it comes to military prowess, African countries have a lot of catching up to do.
That aside, it isn’t news that there are surely some African countries that have one of the strongest militaries.
Take, for example, Egypt with a power index of 0.2224 and an army of over 920,000 men. In the world, she is placed in the 14th position of 30 countries. The only other African country to have made the list is Algeria.
Let’s Run Through 10 of the Weakest Militaries in Africa as of the Year 2023
10. Botswana
In 2023, Botswana was ranked 124 of 145 countries considered for the annual African Global Firepower review. She has a Power Index (Pwrlndx) score of 2.78851 and over 21,000 active personnel with 500 deployed personnel.
With a budget of $537 million as of 2019, Botswana has foreign supplies from countries like France, the United States, Russia, Germany, and Israel. They also have 1 under-strength armored brigade, 2 light infantry brigades, 1 artillery brigade, 1 under-strength air defense brigade, 1 engineering company, 1 signals company, and 1 logistics group.
9. Senegal
Senegal’s PwrIndx score is 2.7961 and safe for a few points, she would have been at the 10th spot of this list. The country’s military is considered to be very weak because it has obsolete equipment and its resources have remained limited over the years.
As of 2018, Senegal’s budget was $350 million and she had an active personnel of 17,000. She also has a Navy known as the ‘Armee de Mer’ whose main responsibility is to secure the Atlantic coastline.
Senegal’s Air Force comprises air-to-air combat airplanes that are responsible for giving support to ground forces.
8. Madagascar
This country is more about internal peace and security than it is about external defense. Her military isn’t only weak with a power index of 2.9078, but it also suffers from low morale and corruption.
This country has an army of a little over 12,000 soldiers, a navy of 500 men, and an air force of 500 men. Altogether, their active personnel is just about 13,500 soldiers.
7. Gabon
This country is ranked 131st after the GFP review and takes the 7th spot on this list because it lacks investments for training as well as equipment.
Her power index sits at 2.9235 with an active personnel of 5000 men spread across her navy and air force. She has a budget of $81.52 and her only foreign suppliers are France and the United States of America.
6. Mauritania
Mauritania has a total active military personnel of 31, 540 and paramilitary personnel of 5000. They have maintained this number of personnel despite having a history of political interventions and coups.
With a PwrIndx of 3.0398, she comes in the 6th spot of African countries with the weakest military that has actually faced a decline. Despite her $231 million budget for the military, Mauritania gets her few supplies from France, Russia, China, the United States, Spain, and even Morocco.
5. Central African Republic
With factors such as corruption, conflicts, and political instability in this country, the military of the Central African Republic has been weakened over time. They have a power index of 3.2931 and another contributing factor to this is their lack of resources.
Their total active personnel is 10,000 soldiers however their functionality has declined ever since the 2012 civil war.
Just like most of the countries on this list, the Central African Republic has solely depended on international support for the security of their country.
4. Sierra Leone
Just like in Madagascar, low morale has greatly affected the military of Sierra Leone. She has a PwrIndx of 3.5241 and also suffered civil war just like with the Central African Republic.
The active military personnel in this country is about 13, 000 but due to corruption, political unrest, and conflicts, she has been weakened greatly. With a budget of $10.6 million, their foreign suppliers include Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
3. Liberia
Liberia has a power index of 4.0006 and some contributing factors to this are the long years of civil war as well as lack of equipment and training.
Taking the 141st position after the GFP review when it comes to her military strength, this country consists of an infantry brigade, an air wing, and a coast guard. Her total active personnel consists however of just 2,100.
2. Somalia
The 2nd weakest military in Africa is the military of Somalia. Its force has been weakened by the conflict with the Al-Shabab militants, however, her corrupt practices as well as lack of funding and factional divisions have aided the weakness of the Somalia Armed Forces.
Somalia’s power index is 4.0196 and she has an approximate active military personnel of 15,000. These 15,000 active men are spread across her army, navy, air force, and police force.
This second-weakest African military has gotten foreign supplies from countries such as Turkey, China, and the United States of America. Despite this, she is still has weak and little equipment and artillery.
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1. Benin
Over the years, Benin has tried to modernize its military and also make it more professional by participating in peacekeeping missions.
No matter how hard this country tries to revamp its military and boost its strength, it remains the weakest military in Africa.
Of 145 countries, Benin takes the 144th position in the most recent annual Global Firepower review. She has a power index of 4.1269 and has just 4, 750 active personnel spread across its army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie.
For a long time, Benin has been dependent on the Belgian Armed Forces for training, coaching, and military equipment. Her major suppliers are the United States of America, Russia, and France.
This country has 1 armored squadron, 3 infantry battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery battery, 1 engineer battalion, and 1 National Fire Brigade.
