GFP Index: Algerian Army (ANP) Ranks 6th In The Middle East and North Africa

The Algerian National People’s Army (ANP) ranks 25th among the world’s most powerful Armies, according to the latest ranking issued by the “Global Fire Power” site.

The ranking concerns 133 countries and is based on 50 criteria, including the extent of the territory, the strength of the armed forces and the availability of natural resources.

Unsurprisingly, the United States leads the way, followed by Russia, China, India and France.

In the MENA region, Egypt ranks first (10th worldwide), followed by Saudi Arabia (24th worldwide) and by Algeria.

The ranking, which does not take into account the nuclear arsenal of states, shows that the Algerian national people’s Army is better positioned than those of developed countries such as Canada (26th), Spain (27th) or Sweden (29th). 

With the best-equipped forces in North Africa, Forbes estimates that Algeria ranks sixth after Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Global Firepower Index (GFP) – which annually evaluates more than 50 factors to establish its ranking of the most effective armed forces in the world – ranks Algeria 25th out of 133 countries worldwide.

According to this GFP study, the country spent, in 2017, around $ 10 billion in defense equipment. 

The ANP Army has 792,350 soldiers (including 520,000 active soldiers and 272,350 reservists), 502 combat aircraft and 2,405 tanks, according to the same source. In terms of number of soldiers, Algeria is ranked 9th in the world.