Military profile
Angola Military Strength
Angola ranks #55 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 107,000 active personnel. It spent $1.5 billion on its military in 2025 (1.4% of GDP).
Angola armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 107,000#41 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 10,000#66 of 145
- Army personnel
- 100,000#35 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 6,000#68 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 1,000#87 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 302#34 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 71#31 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 18#35 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 117#33 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 15#40 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 156#72 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 28#68 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 625#20 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 165#29 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 0#56 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 37#25 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 2#41 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $1.5 billion#76 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.4%#93 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $205.7 billion#66 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Angola military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Angola fell by 58% between 2010 and 2025, from $3.5 billion to $1.5 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 1.4% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Angola
Branches and forces
Angolan Armed Forces (Forcas Armadas Angolanas, FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra Angola, MGA), Angolan National Air Force (Forca Aerea Nacional Angolana, FANA) Ministry of Interior: National Police, Border Guard Police (2025)
Personnel
approximately 100,000 active duty Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
20-45 years of age for compulsory and 18-45 years for voluntary military service for men; 20-45 years of age for voluntary service for women; 24-month conscript service obligation; the Navy is entirely staffed with volunteers (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
most Angolan military weapons and equipment are of Russian or Soviet-era origin; there are smaller quantities of items originating from such suppliers as China, Brazil, Israel, Italy, South Africa, and the UAE (2025)
Good to know
the Angolan Armed Forces were created in 1991 under the Bicesse Accords signed between the Angolan Government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA); the current force is responsible for country's external defense but also has some domestic security responsibilities, such as border protection; it participates in multinational exercises, as well as regional peacekeeping operations, including the deployment of several hundred troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023; in recent years, the military has placed additional emphasis on maritime security and protecting offshore resources (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1% · 2023: 1.2% · 2022: 1.2% · 2021: 1.4% · 2020: 1.5%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Angola compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Angola | #55 | $1.5 billion |
 DR Congo | #72 | $1.2 billion |
 Namibia | #123 | $411 million |
 Zambia | #89 | $406 million |
 Republic of the Congo | #122 | $205 million |