Military profile
Morocco Military Strength
Morocco ranks #61 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 200,000 active personnel. It spent $6.3 billion on its military in 2025 (3.5% of GDP).
Morocco armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 200,000#22 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 150,000#29 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 25,000#46 of 145
- Army personnel
- 150,000#25 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 13,500#50 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 7,800#50 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 250#38 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 83#26 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 64#51 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 1,761#15 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 453#18 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 211#48 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 48#53 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 6#27 of 113
- Corvettes
- 1#43 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 22#44 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $6.3 billion#43 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 3.5%#18 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $259.4 billion#59 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Morocco military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Morocco grew by 100% between 2010 and 2025, from $3.2 billion to $6.3 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 3.5% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Morocco
Branches and forces
Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR): Royal Moroccan Army (includes the Moroccan Royal Guard), Royal Moroccan Navy (includes Coast Guard, marines), Royal Moroccan Air Force, Moroccan Royal Guard, Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie Ministry of Interior: General Directorate for National Security (DGSN; aka National Police), Auxiliary Forces (2025)
Personnel
estimated 220,000 active Armed Forces (175,000 Army; 10,000 Navy; 15,000 Air Force, 20,000 Gendarmerie) (2025)
Service age and conscription
19-25 years of age for 12-month compulsory and voluntary military service for men and women (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the Moroccan military's inventory is mostly a mix of older and some more modern armaments from France and the US (2025)
Deployments abroad
775 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 890 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (2025)
Good to know
the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) are responsible for protecting Morocco’s national interests, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; key areas of concern for the FAR include international terrorism, maritime security, and regional challenges such as the Polisario Front in Western Sahara and Algeria; the Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), an organization that seeks the independence of Western Sahara, disputes Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over the territory; Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently from 1975, when Spain relinquished colonial authority over the territory, until a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping mission; the Polisario withdrew from the cease-fire in November 2020, and since then there have been reports of low-intensity hostilities between Morocco and the Polisario Front across the 2,500-kilometer-long berm built in 1987 that separates the two sides; Algeria is seen as a regional rival and has openly backed the Polisario Front the FAR participates in international peacekeeping operations, as well as both bilateral and multinational training exercises; it has relations with a variety of partners including the militaries of France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the US, as well as NATO, the Arab League, and the African Union; Morocco has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation the FAR was created in May 1956; Moroccans were recruited for service in the Spahi and Tirailleur regiments of the French Army during the period of the French protectorate (1912-1956), and Moroccans fought under the French Army during both World Wars, as well as the First Indochina War (1946-1954); the Spanish Army recruited Moroccans from the Spanish Protectorate during both the Rif War (1921-26) and the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established by Security Council resolution 690 in April 1991 in accordance with settlement proposals accepted in August 1988 by Morocco and the Polisario Front; MINURSO was unable to carry out all the original settlement proposals, but continues to monitor the cease-fire and reduce the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance, and has provided logistic support to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 4% · 2023: 4% · 2022: 4.5% · 2021: 4.5% · 2020: 4.5%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Morocco compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco | #61 | $6.3 billion |
 Algeria | #26 | $25.4 billion |
 Mauritania | #132 | $322 million |
 Spain | #21 | $40.2 billion |