Africa’s defence industry is at a pivotal moment as security threats intensify across the continent.
From insurgencies in the Sahel and Horn of Africa to piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and renewed great-power competition, governments are increasing military spending to address immediate risks while modernising their armed forces and asserting greater strategic autonomy.
This shift is occurring even as domestic defence production remains limited, leaving most countries reliant on foreign suppliers. Africa’s defence equipment market is highly internationalised. While countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria maintain some manufacturing capacity, the majority of military hardware is imported.
Traditional suppliers including Russia, the United States, China, and France continue to dominate arms transfers. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia accounted for the largest share of military equipment supplied to Sub-Saharan Africa between 2019 and 2023, followed by the US, China, and France.
Newer entrants such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have also expanded their presence by offering cost-effective systems including UAVs, armoured vehicles, and patrol vessels tailored to African operational needs. This reliance on external producers highlights the uneven development of Africa’s defence industrial base.
Military spending vs military strength
As insecurity persists across multiple regions, rising defence budgets continue to translate into procurement-led modernisation, shaping the continent’s overall military strength as reflected in the Global Firepower 2026 rankings.
The top 10 African military budgets versus military strength reveal a clear mismatch: while rising insecurity has pushed many governments to increase military budgets, higher spending has not always translated into stronger armed forces.
- Angola is Africa’s biggest defence spender, with a budget of $31.2 billion, yet it ranks only fourth in military strength on the continent.
- Egypt is ranked Africa’s strongest military despite a much smaller budget of about $5.2 billion, reflecting long-term investment in force structure, procurement, and defence partnerships.
North Africa continues to dominate the rankings, with Algeria and Morocco placing second and third in military strength after years of sustained modernisation.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria ranks fifth with a defence budget of around $3.9 billion, highlighting the strain of prolonged internal security operations and limited major equipment purchases.
Overall, the data shows that in Africa, how defence money is spent matters more than how much is spent, according to Global Firepower.
