DEFENCEWEB
African military spending rose by 22% between 2022 and 2023, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo seeing the biggest percentage increase to its military budget globally at 105% as the country battled multiple security threats.
The DRC has been in protracted conflicts, with an estimated 200 militias and armed groups operating in the region, and Red Tabara rebels aiming to destabilize neighboring Burundi.
In 2023, the DRC’s military spending more than doubled to reach $794 million. The 2023 increase coincided with growing tensions with Rwanda and a move by the government to strengthen the DRC’s armed forces after it demanded the early withdrawal of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
South Africa has emerged as a key supplier to the DRC, with the Paramount company delivering 25 Maatla armored personnel carriers to the DRC police in 2023, and 20 Mbombe 4 carriers to the DRC military in early 2023. The DRC also is acquiring aircraft from Paramount and is receiving six Mwari intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.
African military spending totaled $51.6 billion in 2023, which was 22% higher than in 2022, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported. The rise in 2023 can be attributed to the 20% increase in spending by Nigeria — the subregion’s biggest military spender — and notable increases in spending by several other countries, such as South Sudan.
Nigeria’s military spending was $3.2 billion in 2023. This included a supplementary budget that boosted the regular military budget by an additional 34%. The latest increase in Nigerian military spending comes against the backdrop of numerous ongoing security challenges.
South Sudan recorded the second-highest percentage increase in military spending globally in 2023. Its spending rose by 78% to reach $1.1 billion, after a 108% increase in 2022. The growth in spending can be attributed to escalating internal violence and the security challenges that have spilled over from Sudan’s civil war.