Military profile
Namibia Military Strength
Namibia ranks #123 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 12,500 active personnel. It spent $411 million on its military in 2025 (2.8% of GDP).
Namibia armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 12,500#117 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 0#84 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 5,000#88 of 145
- Army personnel
- 9,000#115 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 1,200#109 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 1,200#86 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 32#106 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 9#82 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 7#123 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 2#68 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 20#106 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 35#88 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 10#88 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 0#56 of 113
- Corvettes
- 2#32 of 113
- Submarines
- 0#44 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 5#89 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $411 million#110 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.8%#35 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $22.6 billion#131 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Namibia military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Namibia grew by 4% between 2010 and 2025, from $396 million to $411 million (current US dollars), and stood at 2.8% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Namibia
Branches and forces
Namibian Defense Force (NDF): Namibian Army, Namibian Navy, Namibian Air Force (2025)
Personnel
estimated 12,000 active Namibian Defense Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-25 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service; no conscription (2026)
Equipment and suppliers
the NDF's inventory consists mostly of Soviet-era weapons and equipment; over the past decade, it has received a limited number of newer weapons systems from China and South Africa; Namibia has a small defense industry that produces items such as armored personnel carriers (2025)
Good to know
the NDF’s primary responsibility is defending Namibia's territorial integrity and national interests; other responsibilities include support to civil authorities and participating in peace and stability missions under the African Union, Southern African Development Community, and the UN; Namibia has bilateral defense ties with several countries, including Botswana, India, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia the NDF was created in 1990, largely from demobilized former members of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and the South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF); the PLAN was the armed wing of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), while SWATF was an auxiliary of the South African Defense Force and comprised the armed forces of the former South West Africa, 1977-1989; from 1990-1995, the British military assisted with the forming and training the NDF (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 2.8% · 2023: 2.8% · 2022: 3% · 2021: 3% · 2020: 3.4%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Namibia compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Namibia | #123 | $411 million |
 Botswana | #124 | $614 million |
 Angola | #55 | $1.5 billion |
 South Africa | #33 | $3.2 billion |
 Zambia | #89 | $406 million |