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Military Strength: Flag of Ghana Ghana vs Flag of Malawi Malawi

Ghana (ranked #140 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Malawi (#145) on the ATLAS Index. Ghana fields 16,000 active troops vs 15,000 for Malawi. Ghana's $0.3B defense budget is 3.6:1 that of Malawi ($0.09B).

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Flag of Ghana GhanaWorld #140 8.2
ATLAS Index / 100

Ghana leads on 3 of 6 pillars

Flag of Malawi MalawiWorld #145 7.1
  • 25.416K active troops Manpower10 % 23.515K active troops
  • 0.00 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 14.24 combat aircraft Air power25 % 12.60 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 13.8$329M budget Defense budget15 % 10.0$90M budget
Ghana Malawi Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · each conventional pillar read after its branch's availability proxy · Methodology
Key figures
Ghana Malawi Ratio
Defense budget $329M $90M 🇬🇭 3.6×
– share of GDP 0.4% 0.8% 🇲🇼 2.0×
Active personnel 16,000 15,000 🇬🇭 1.1×
Combat aircraft 4 0 🇬🇭
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 0 0 —
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 0 —
Paramilitary forces 0 4,200 🇲🇼
Military aircraft (all types) 20 11 🇬🇭 1.8×
– helicopters 11 8 🇬🇭 1.4×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $10 $4 🇬🇭 2.3×
Population 34.4M 21.7M 🇬🇭 1.6×
GDP $82B $11B 🇬🇭 7.3×
GDP per capita $2,391 $523 🇬🇭 4.6×
Land area 227,533 km² 94,080 km² 🇬🇭 2.4×
Coastline 539 km 0 km 🇬🇭
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇬🇭 GhanaJL-8 ×4
Defense budget history Ghana ×1.2 · Malawi ×0.9 since 2020
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Ghana or Malawi?
Ghana has approximately 16,000 active military personnel compared to Malawi's 15,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Ghana or Malawi?
Ghana operates 4 combat aircraft compared to Malawi's 0. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Ghana or Malawi?
Ghana has a larger defense budget at $329 million (3.6:1 more) compared to Malawi's $90 million annually.
Do Ghana and Malawi have nuclear weapons?
Neither Ghana nor Malawi currently possesses nuclear weapons.