Top 10 African countries with the largest military personnel
Amid speculation that there could be a World War III following the spark of new conflicts like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many have been left questioning which African nation has the largest armed forces.
RANKED: Top 10 African countries with the largest military personnel
Which African country has the largest military?
Well, to answer that, we need to consider the three commonly measured categories of military personnel:
- Active military: Soldiers who work full-time for the army
- Military reserves: People who do not work for the army full-time but have military training and can be called up and deployed at any moment
- Paramilitary: Groups that aren’t officially military but operate in a similar fashion, such as the CIA or SWAT teams in the U.S.
We can now mention the top 10 African countries with the highest total number of military personnel.
1. Egypt
Egypt military power (NPR)
Total personnel – 1.3 million
Active military: 438.5K
Paramilitary: 397K
Reserves: 479K
2. Algeria
Algeria military
Total personnel – 467.2K
Active military: 130K
Paramilitary: 187.2K
Reserves: 150K
3. Morocco
Moroccoan military
Total personnel: 395.8K
Active military: 195.8K
Paramilitary: 50K
Reserve: 150K
4. Eritrea
Eritrean military at a parade
Total personnel: 321.8K
Active military: 201.8K
Paramilitary: 0
Reserves: 120K
5. Nigeria
Nigerian army
Total personnel: 223K
Active military: 143K
Paramilitary: 80K
Reserves: 0
6. Sudan
Sudan army
Total personnel: 209.3K
Active military: 104.3K
Paramilitary: 105K
Reserves: 0
7. South Sudan
Sudanese military
Total personnel: 185K
Active military: 185K
Paramilitary: 0
Reserves: 0
8. Ethiopia
Ethiopian Army
Total personnel: 138K
Active military: 138K
Paramilitary: 0
Reserves: 0
9. DR Congo
DR Congo Army
Total personnel: 134.3K
Active military: 134.3K
Paramilitary: 0
Reserves: 0
10. Angola
A division of the Angolan Army
Total personnel: 117K
Active military: 107K
Paramilitary: 10K
Reserves: 0
Author: Editor
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