Algeria outspends all of sub-Saharan Africa on its military
Military expenditure in 2025, US$ billion: Algeria vs sub-Saharan Africa's total and major African spenders.
Algeria spent more on its military in 2025 than all of sub-Saharan Africa combined ($23.3bn).
Algeria's military burden, up from 5.7% in 2016, is a quarter of all government spending.
Algeria's real military spending has grown four times as fast as sub-Saharan Africa's since 2016.
the numbers
| Spending 2025 (bn) | Change 2024–25 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 25.4 | 11.0 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa (all) | 23.3 | 7.4 |
| Morocco | 6.3 | 6.6 |
| South Africa | 3.2 | -1.2 |
| Nigeria | 2.1 | 55.0 |
| DR Congo | 1.2 | 20.0 |
| Somalia | 0.2 | -4.6 |
source notes & method
Spending in current 2025 US$; percentage changes are real terms (constant 2024 US$), as published by SIPRI. Sub-Saharan Africa is SIPRI's subregional total and excludes Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan (no data). Algeria's 25% share of government spending is the second highest in the world after Ukraine (SIPRI). The 'four times as fast' comparison is derived from SIPRI's 2016–25 changes (89% vs 21%).
Published 3 Nov 2026
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