5 Weakest Militaries in Africa

In this article, we look at the five weakest militaries in Africa. You can read about defense spending patterns in the continent by heading over to the 10 Weakest Militaries in Africa, where we have also discussed the contrast in defense procurement between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

5. Somalia

GDP (2023): $11.51 billion

Defense Spending (2023): $64 million 

Manpower: 17,500

Tanks: 0

Armored Fighting Vehicles: 3,712

Military Aircraft: 0

Naval Assets: 3

Overall Score: 7.5

We begin our list with Somalia, which is not just one of the weakest militaries in Africa, but also in the world, with no military aircraft and battle tanks, and only three naval assets. The country remained under an arms embargo placed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) since 1992 due to the threat of Somalia’s weapons falling into the hands of terrorist groups. The embargo was lifted in December last year after over three decades, which brings hope for the country’s government to enhance its military capabilities.