Just as there is a country carrying the title ‘best military in the world,’ there is a country carrying the reputation ‘worst military in the world.’
Because there are strong militaries, there are weak ones. In this article, we will look at the top 10 weakest militaries in the world, according to the Global Fire Power Index.
Global Firepower’s Military Strength Rankings 2025 evaluates 145 countries, considering over 60 individual factors like troop numbers, military equipment, financial stability, geographic location, and available resources. These elements contribute to a PowerIndex score, with lower scores indicating stronger military capabilities.
1. Bhutan – The Armed Forces of Bhutan
Three groups make up the Armed Forces of Bhutan: the Royal Bhutan Army, Royal Bodyguards, and Royal Bhutan Police. Of the country’s total population (884,546), 7,500 are in the military. But they are all active personnel. There are no reserve personnel or paramilitary.
The military’s inventory includes just two helicopters and 84 armored land vehicles. Since it is a landlocked country, Bhutan does not have a Navy. Its logistics only consist of 2 airports. Yet, the country has an external debt of more than 2.75 billion USD.
2. Benin – The Benin Armed Forces
Benin has in recent years received military assistance from France, especially in the form of armored fighting vehicles, but that has not been sufficient to enhance the country’s military capabilities. It is currently the 2nd weakest military in the world, and the first weakest in Africa, with a manpower of only 4,750 active personnel, 90 armored vehicles, five military aircraft and two naval assets, each.
3. Central African Republic – The Central African Armed Forces
The Central African Armed Forces has 10,000 active personnel and 1,000 members in the paramilitary; it does not have any reserve personnel.
It was founded in 1960 but has been barely functional since 2012 because of the outbreak of the Civil War. At present, it has 2 transport aircraft and 1 helicopter. For the land forces, there are 3 tanks and 89 armored vehicles.
It lacks merchant fleets but does operate two ports and 39 airports. Its existing external debt is close to 780 million USD.
4. Somalia – The Somalia Armed Forces
The Somali Armed Forces was formed in 1960 and went through a rebuilding process in 2000. It is made up of 15,000 active personnel. However, it had no reserve personnel but has 2,00 paramilitary. It has 682 armored land vehicles and 10 patrol vessels but now AirPower.
Despite having plenty of logistics (52 airports, 2 ports, and 4 merchant fleets) it owes an external debt of over 5 billion USD.
5. Kosovo – The Kosovo Security Force (KSV)
The Kosovo Security Force was founded in 2008 after the country’s declaration of independence. In 2018, it entered a transformation process to become the Kosovo Armed Forces. This process is due to complete in 2028.
Kosovo’s available manpower is 46.4% of its total population but only 37.6% is fit for service and .9% is reaching the military age per year. Currently, it has 10,000 active military personnel. It has 737 Land armored vehicles, no air power and naval forces while bearing an external debt of over 2 billion USD.
6. Sierra Leone – The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF)
Sierra Leone is considered one of the smallest Armies in the world, with 13,000 active personnel. It does not run reserve personnel or paramilitary but has one airpower.
Its land force is supported by 150 armored vehicles and its naval force has 7 total assets. Plus, it has 8 airports, 3 ports, and 591 merchant fleets.
However, its external debt is somewhat high: more than 2.6 billion USD.
7. Suriname – The Suriname National Army
The Suriname National Army, deemed the weakest Army in the world, was founded in 1980 following a coup d’état.
Of the total population of 646,758, the available manpower is 142,287. 84,079 are fit for service and about 3,234 are reaching the military age annually.
At present, the Army has 2,200 active personnel. Like the previously-listed countries, there are no reserve personnel and paramilitary. It owns 3 helicopters, 660 armored land vehicles, and 17 Naval assets.
8. Liberia – The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) – Power Index score 3.7781
The Armed Forces of Liberia has approximately 2,000 active personnel though the country has a population of 5,437,249 people. It also has 2,392,390 available manpower, 1,913,912 are Fit-for-service and 65,247 have reach the military age. It has No reserve personnel but has 5,000 paramilitary personnel. It also does not have airpower but there are 300 land vehicles and four naval assets.
Like Somalia, Liberia has a number of airports (29), ports (2), and merchant fleets (3,492) at the expense of $830 million in external debt.
9. Belize – Belize Defense Force (BDF) – Power Index Score 3.7191
The Belize Defence Force (BDF) is the military of Belize, and is responsible for protecting the sovereignty of the country.
Compared to the other countries listed on this, the Belize Defense Force is made up of active personnel, reserve personnel, and paramilitary. The total military population is 2,500: 1,600 are on active duty, 850 are in reserve, and none are paramilitary.
Its aircraft strength is 3, while its land forces are bolstered by 130 armored vehicles, 8 naval assets and an external debt of over 1.2 billion USD.
10. Panama – The Panamanian Public Forces
Panama’s force consists of 80,000 paramilitary members. Even though this is a relatively decent number, the fact that there is 0 active personnel makes the Panamanian Public Forces one of the least powerful military in the world.
Its airpower is made up of 13 transport aircraft and 23 helicopters, while its land forces own 262 armored vehicles. There are a total of 30 Naval assets. Panama is also armed with many logistics, including 76 airports, 12 ports, and 8,175 merchant fleets. But its external debt is extremely high at 101 billion USD.
How Does the Global Fire Power Index Rank Military Powers?
Since each country can decide how to run its military, it is very difficult to compare and contrast military powers. The Global Fire Power Index decided on over 50 measures to do this, and their system assigns a score to each country’s military.
Hence, we are able to have a rank of 142 countries’ military strength.
The measures that the Global Fire Power Index use include:
- Manpower
- Equipment
- Finances
- Logistics
- Natural Resources
- Geography
