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The Nigerian military has seen a decline in its global standing, dropping three places in the most recent Global Firepower ranking. In the 2024 review, the Armed Forces of Nigeria now hold the 39th position out of 145 nations assessed, marking a notable shift in their international military ranking.
This drop follows a consecutive decline from 36th in 2023 and 35th in 2022, despite the Nigerian military’s significant investments in fighter jets and other advanced combat tools. Additionally, the military has boasted of successful operations against terrorist groups, yet these achievements have not been enough to reverse the decline in their global ranking.
In addition to the overall global decline, Nigeria has fallen from third to fourth among African countries, signaling a shift in the regional military order. The United States, however, remains unchallenged at the top, securing the number one position for the 18th year running.
Global Firepower points out that the United States demonstrates “dominance in numerous major material, financial, and resource categories,” cementing its position at the top. Behind it, Russia, China, and India are ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively, in terms of global military strength.
South Korea is ranked fifth, followed by the United Kingdom (6th), Japan (7th), Turkey (8th), Pakistan (9th), and Italy (10th). The top 15 is completed by France (11th), Brazil (12th), Indonesia (13th), Iran (14th), and Egypt (15th).
Australia, Israel, Ukraine, Germany, and Spain hold the 16th to 20th positions, respectively.
In Africa, Egypt is ranked first, followed by Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, and Sudan, in that order.
According to the report, over 60 factors were considered in determining the scores given to countries.
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“The finalised Global Firepower ranking below utilises over 60 individual factors to determine a given nation’s PowerIndex (‘PwrIndx’) score, with categories ranging from the quantity of military units and financial standing to logistical capabilities and geography,” the GFP report stated.
“Our unique, in-house formula allows smaller, more technologically advanced nations to compete with larger, less-developed powers. Special modifiers, in the form of bonuses and penalties, are applied to further refine the list, which is compiled annually.
“For 2024, Nigeria is ranked 39th out of the 145 countries considered for the annual GFP review. The nation holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.5619 (a score of 0.0000 is considered ‘perfect’). This entry was last reviewed on 01/09/2024.”
“PwrIndx: Each nation is assessed on individual and collective values processed through an in-house formula to generate its ‘PwrIndx’ (Power Index) score. Some values are estimated when official numbers are unavailable,” it added.
When contacted, the Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur, Gusau said, “I am not aware of the ranking and I can’t comment on it.”
