Nigeria ranks as Africa's third most powerful military force according to the 2026 Global Firepower Index, trailing only Egypt and Algeria on the continent.
Egypt claims the top spot with a Power Index score of 0.3651, cementing its position as Africa's leading military power. Algeria holds second place with a score of 0.4849, showing a slight dip from previous rankings.
Nigeria sits in third with a score of 0.6097, while South Africa occupies fourth position at 0.6843. Ethiopia climbed to fifth place with a score of 0.8525.
Morocco advanced to sixth in the rankings with a score of 1.0368. Angola dropped to seventh with 1.1045, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose to eighth at 1.3051.
Sudan came in ninth with a score of 1.3563. Tunisia rounded out the continent's top 10 strongest militaries with 1.7823.
The Global Firepower Index assesses military might using more than 60 different measures. These include manpower, equipment, logistics, financial capacity, geography and access to natural resources.
A lower score on the Power Index indicates stronger military capability. The methodology evaluates armed forces across more than 140 countries worldwide.
