Nigerian Military Ranks 36th Out Of 145 Countries Despite Terrorism, Other Security Challenges
Adedokun Waliyu 
In 2022, the military ranking by research organisation, Global Fire Power, ranked the Nigerian Army 35 out of 142 countries considered for the annual ranking, and in 2023, the ranking placed the Nigerian military at 36th out of a total of 145 countries reviewed.
The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, has not reacted to the latest military ranking where Nigeria dropped one place to 36 among 145 countries in the 2023 global military ranking.
In 2022, the military ranking by research organisation, Global Fire Power, ranked the Nigerian Army 35 out of 142 countries considered for the annual ranking, and in 2023, the ranking placed the Nigerian military at 36th out of a total of 145 countries reviewed.
The United States of America’s military ranked first in the world, followed by the Russian military and China as second and third respectively, while India ranked fourth with the United Kingdom coming fifth and South Korea, Pakistan, Japan, France and Italy ranking sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth positions respectively in the global ranking.
It was further reported that Nigeria also dropped from third to fourth on the continent basis as Egypt ranked 1st in Africa and 14th in the world, while Algeria ranked 2nd in Africa and 26th in the world, with South Africa ranking 3rd in Africa and 33rd in the world.
According to Global Fire Power, “Ranking the nations of the world based on currently available firepower. The finalised Global Firepower ranking below utilises over 60 individual factors to determine a given nation’s Power Index score with categories, ranging from the number of military units and financial standing to logistical capabilities and geography.
“For 2023, Nigeria is ranked 36 of 145 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. The nation holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.5587.”
However, PUNCH reports that when asked if the ranking was the true reflection of the Nigerian military’s strength, the Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, declined to comment on the ranking.
But speaking on the ranking, a security expert, Timothy Avele, reportedly said that lack of information on latest hardware as well as accidental bombing by the Nigerian Air Force could have led to the drop.
Avele was quoted as saying that “There are a lot of factors that may be responsible for the lower ranking. One of the key factors is the lack of official information on the latest military hardware. I suspected that the Air Force mishap could have also contributed. However, this ranking does not really show the true military power of a nation.”
