The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) has dropped three places in the latest global military ranking published by Global Firepower, placing 39th position out of a total of 145 countries reviewed for 2024.
The 39th position marks a decline from its 36th ranking in 2023 and 35th in 2022.
Nigeria also dropped from third to fourth position among top African militaries.
This two-year consecutive drop comes despite the acquisition of fighter jets and other combat enablers, as well as the military’s claimed successes against terrorists in Nigeria over the same period.
According to the ‘2024 Military Strength,’ “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.”
The Global Firepower ranking shows that the United States retained its position as the top-ranked military globally, for the 18th consecutive year.
The report says the U.S. showcases “commanding values in many major material, financial, and resource categories.”
The USA is followed by Russia, China, and India, ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively.
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.
“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.”
