Africa’s military spending hit new highs for the third time despite ongoing security problems

Military spending in Africa is steadily increasing, reflecting a continent defined by internal insurgencies, cross-border conflicts, and greater geopolitical instability.

• Military spending in Africa reached $58.2 billion in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of growth.
• North Africa accounts for most of this rise, with Algeria leading at $25.4 billion, and Morocco also increasing defense budgets due to tensions over Western Sahara.
• Algeria's military spending is 25% of its government budget, the world's second-highest share after Ukraine.
• Military expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa totaled $23.3 billion, up mainly due to insecurity and conflicts, with Nigeria showing a sharp 55% increase.

According to a recent report by SIPRI, African countries spent a total of $58.2 billion on defense in 2025, the third consecutive year of growth.

This figure denotes an 8.5 per cent growth relative to 2024 and a substantial 45 per cent expansion since 2016, underscoring a persistent long-term surge in defense expenditures.

The rise, however, as per the report, is not evenly distributed, as North Africa accounts for the majority of the growth.

North Africa’s military spending

Total military spending in the North African region was $35 billion in 2025, up 9.3% year on year and 67% higher than in 2016, showing the severity of regional security issues.

At the center of this surge is Algeria, Africa's largest military spending country, with a defense budget of $25.4 billion in 2025, which represents a year-on-year 11% from 2024.

Algeria's military spending currently accounts for 25% of government spending, the second largest share in the world after Ukraine, an indication of how strongly security objectives influence national budgets.

Morocco has also dramatically raised its defence budget, spending $6.3 billion in 2025, a 6.6% increase over the previous year.

The concurrent increase in military spending between Algeria and Morocco is largely motivated by long-standing geopolitical tensions, particularly over the disputed Western Sahara territory, which worsened in 2025.

“Spending by both Morocco and Algeria is largely driven by long-standing tensions between the two, especially over the contested territory of Western Sahara, which continued to escalate in 2025,” the report reads.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s military spending

In Sub-Saharan Africa, military spending totaled $23.3 billion, up 7.4% from 2024 and 21% from 2016. Multiple conflict regions and internal security challenges are driving this increase.

Nigeria experienced one of the largest increases, with spending climbing 55% to $2.1 billion, owing to worsening insecurity caused by insurgencies and extremist violence, which, per the report, only seems to have gotten worse.

“Nigeria’s military expenditure rose by 55 per cent to $2.1 billion in 2025 against the backdrop of the worsening security situation in the country linked to insurgencies and extremist violence,” the report states.

Meanwhile, South Africa, the region's top defense spender, allocated $3.2 billion, a modest decrease from the previous year and much lower than 2016 levels, owing to budget constraints and shifting economic priorities.

However, scrutiny has increased, with the South African Auditor General looking into roughly $900 million in past improper defence spending.

Military spending in the Democratic Republic of the Congo increased by 20% to $1.2 billion in the first half of the year as fighting with a Rwanda-backed armed group erupted, before a ceasefire agreement in July 2025 briefly reduced tension.

Somalia, further east, allotted $199 million for defense in the period under review.

While significantly lower than 2024, this reflects a tremendous 173% increase since 2016, indicating the country's long-running conflict with al-Shabab, an armed group that still controls portions of the country.