Military profile
Cameroon Military Strength
Cameroon ranks #100 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 40,000 active personnel. It spent $627 million on its military in 2025 (1.1% of GDP).
Cameroon armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 40,000#74 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 12,500#60 of 145
- Army personnel
- 30,000#86 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 3,500#87 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 1,300#84 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 31#107 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 0#95 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 17#99 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 0#115 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 18#76 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 52#81 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 20#75 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
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $627 million#95 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.1%#110 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $94.0 billion#90 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Cameroon military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Cameroon grew by 77% between 2010 and 2025, from $354 million to $627 million (current US dollars), and stood at 1.1% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Cameroon
Branches and forces
Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC): Army, Cameroon Navy (includes naval infantry or fusiliers marin), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Firefighting Corps General Delegation for National Security (Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale or DGSN): Cameroon Police (2025)
Personnel
estimated 40-50,000 active FAC, including the Gendarmerie (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-23 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (18-28 for medical services); no conscription; service obligation 4 years (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the FAC inventory is comprised of armaments from a variety of countries, including China, Israel, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Africa, the US, and some Western European countries, particularly France (2025)
Deployments abroad
750 (plus about 400 police) Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (2025)
Good to know
the Cameroon Armed Forces (FAC) are responsible for defending the country's territorial integrity, providing humanitarian assistance, supporting regional peacekeeping operations, and contributing to internal security; key areas of focus are the threat from the terrorist groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa along its frontiers with Nigeria and Chad (Far North region) and, since 2016, an insurgency from armed Anglophone separatist groups in the North-West and South-West regions; in addition, the FAC often deploys ground units to the border region with the Central African Republic to counter intrusions from armed militias and bandits; the Navy's missions include protecting Cameroon's oil installations, combatting crime and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and patrolling the country's lakes and rivers; the FAC's small Air Force supports both the ground and naval forces (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 1% · 2023: 1% · 2022: 1% · 2021: 1% · 2020: 1%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Cameroon compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | #100 | $627 million |
 Nigeria | #36 | $2.1 billion |
 Chad | #97 | $649 million |
 Central African Republic | #136 | $74 million |
 Republic of the Congo | #122 | $205 million |
 Gabon | #131 | $356 million |
 Equatorial Guinea | — | $121 million |