The Nigerian military has experienced a decline in the latest Global Firepower (GFP) ranking, falling to 39th place globally in 2024.
This marks a drop from its 36th position in 2023 and 35th in 2022, despite acquiring new fighter jets and other combat capabilities, as well as claiming victories against terrorists within Nigeria.
In addition to the global drop, Nigeria has also fallen from 3rd to 4th position among African countries. The GFP ranking, which evaluates military strength using over 60 factors, places Nigeria behind Egypt, Algeria, and South Africa on the African continent.
The United States remains the top-ranked military globally, a position it has held for 18 consecutive years, followed by Russia, China, and India. Other top-ranking countries include South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey, rounding out the top 10.
The GFP methodology considers various factors such as the size of a nation’s military units, financial resources, logistical capabilities, and geography. Nigeria’s PowerIndex (PwrIndx) score for 2024 is 0.5619, with 0.0000 considered a perfect score. Despite its military advancements, Nigeria’s position reflects the impact of these broader metrics, which influence the final rankings.
The Nigerian military has not issued a formal response to the ranking, as Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, expressed unawareness of the details and refrained from commenting on the matter.
