The Nigerian Army has fallen one place in the latest World Military Rankings. In Global Fire Power’s ranking, the Nigerian military ranked 35th out of 142 countries considered in her 2022 annual ranking, with Nigeria also falling from third to fourth on the continent.
But in 2023, the Nigerian military was ranked 36th out of a total of 145 countries reviewed for the 2023 ranking.
The US military is number one in the world, Russia is second, China is followed by India at fourth and the United Kingdom in fifth place. South Korea, Pakistan, Japan, France and Italy are ranked 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th in the world.
In Africa, Egypt ranks 1st and 14th in the world, Algeria ranks 2nd and 26th in the world, and South Africa ranks 33rd in the world and 3rd in the continent.
“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 (‘PwrIndx’) 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,” the organisation said.
When asked if the ranking was the true reflection of the military’s strength, the Director, of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau declined to comment on the ranking.
A security expert, Timothy Avele, said lack of information on the latest hardware as well as accidental bombing by the Nigerian Air Force could have led to the drop.
He said-
“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.”
cc: Punch Ng
