Algeria ranks #18 of 170 militaries worldwide in 2026, with 130,000 active troops. The Algerian Army fields 8,195 ground vehicles, including 1,485 main battle tanks; the Air Force flies 682 aircraft, including 171 combat aircraft; the Navy operates 93 warships, including 6 submarines. Algeria has no nuclear weapons.
| Domain | Strength | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 682 aircraft | 171 combat 313 helicopters 14 air bases +46 on order |
| Algerian National Navy | 93 warships | 14 major combatants 6 submarines |
| Ground Forces | 8,195 vehicles | 1,485 main battle tanks |
| Personnel | 130,000 active | 150,000 reserve 187,200 paramilitary |
| Pillar | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manpower | 10% | 54.9 | Active, reserve & paramilitary personnel |
| Ground forces | 20% | 59.0 | ARMS inventory power: armour & artillery by type and era, attack helicopters, armament |
| Naval power | 20% | 43.9 | SEAS inventory power: hulls by type, size and era, air wing, sustainment, armament |
| Air power | 25% | 43.3 | AIRS inventory power: aircraft by type and generation, enablers, armament |
| Nuclear deterrent | 10% | 0.0 | No declared nuclear capability |
| Defense budget | 15% | 48.2 | Annual spending, purchasing-power adjusted |
| Availability | modifier | ground ×1.09 · naval ×1.09 · air ×1.07 | Budget per point of each force, from the branch indexes |
| Population | 47.4M (2025) |
| GDP | $287.0 billion (2025) |
| GDP per capita | $6,051 |
| Military budget | $22B (2024) |
| Share of GDP | 8.0% (2024) |
| Military spending per capita | $454 (2024) |
| Inflation rate | 1.42% (2025) |
| Capital | Algiers |
| Region | Africa |
| Land area | 2,381,741 km² |
| Coastline | 998 km |
| Land borders | 6,470 km |
| Bordering countries | 7 |
| Currency | DZD |
Algeria occupies a central geopolitical role in North Africa and the Sahel, sharing borders with seven states, including Libya, Mali, and Niger. The primary security concerns focus on the instability of the Sahel region, characterized by transnational militancy, arms trafficking, and the spillover of conflict from neighboring territories. A secondary priority is the long-standing structural rivalry with Morocco, centered on the Western Sahara dispute and the closed border between the two nations. Algeria provides political and military support to the Polisario Front, which remains a focal point of its regional strategy.
Defense doctrine has historically emphasized territorial integrity and non-intervention. However, a 2020 constitutional amendment allows for the deployment of the People's National Army (ANP) beyond national borders for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions under the auspices of the United Nations, African Union, or Arab League. Algeria maintains a strategic partnership with Russia, its primary arms supplier, while diversifying bilateral cooperation with China and several European nations, particularly in the Mediterranean maritime sector.
The People's National Army (ANP) is organized into several branches: Land Forces, Air Force, Navy, and Air Defense Forces of the Territory (DAT). The military operates under a centralized command structure with the President serving as the Minister of National Defense. Total active personnel are estimated at approximately 130,000, supported by a reserve force of 150,000 and a substantial paramilitary Gendarmerie under the defense ministry.
Algeria possesses an expanding domestic defense industry focused on reducing import reliance for certain platform categories. The Direction des Fabrications Militaires (DFM) oversees state-owned production facilities.
The Algerian defense budget for 2026 is projected at approximately $25 billion, continuing a trend of high expenditure that accounts for roughly 20% of the national budget and nearly 9% of GDP. These funds are prioritized for the "full digital modernization" of the ANP, an initiative scheduled for 2026 that focuses on command-and-control systems, electronic warfare, and cybersecurity.
Procurement shifts indicate a growing interest in unmanned systems and precision-guided munitions. While Russia remains the dominant supplier, Algeria has increasingly sourced MALE (Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance) drones and radar systems from China and Turkey to monitor its 6,000 kilometers of land borders. A primary constraint on the military's modernization is the reliance on volatile hydrocarbon revenues to fund its high-cost acquisition programs and the logistical challenge of maintaining diverse equipment types from multiple international suppliers.
Four Algerian Air Force Su-30MKA fighters and an Il-78 tanker landed at Niamey's Diori Hamani International Airport on August 30, 2026, a day after Nigerien forces put down a mutiny by soldiers in the capital, in what AeroTime calls a rare overseas combat deployment for Algeria.