Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 122
- Armored vehicles
- 2,550
- Self-propelled artillery
- 24
- Towed artillery
- 0
- MLRS
- 15
2026 military profile
South Sudan Military Power
Africa · Rank #79 of 145
1.7Strength Scoreout of 100 — #79 globally
How this score is calculatedSouth Sudan military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, South Sudan ranks #79 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 1.7/100. The profile reports 185,000 active personnel, 19 total aircraft, 122 tanks and 0 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $30.7M.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Manpower (5/100); its lowest is Air Force (0/100). These are relative inventory scores, not assessments of readiness or combat effectiveness.
Profile scope
- Data edition
- 2026
- Indicators
- 29 fields
- Country set
- 145
- Regional rank
- #12 of 38
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
185,000
↑14% vs avg
Reserve troops
0
Total aircraft
19
↓95% vs avg
Naval assets
0
↓100% vs avg
Defense budget
$30.7M
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Africa
#12
of 38 profiles
Population
12,188,788
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$7.0B
Legacy snapshot
Land area
631,930 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$2.519
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
15.18
population-normalized
Regional medians
30,770 troops
38.5 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 19
- Fighters
- 0
- Attack aircraft
- 0
- Transport aircraft
- 4
- Helicopters
- 15
- Attack helicopters
- 6
Navy
- Total vessels
- 0
- Aircraft carriers
- N/A
- Destroyers
- N/A
- Submarines
- N/A
- Frigates
- N/A
- Patrol vessels
- N/A
MSS category profile
Normalized against the largest value in the 2026 country set. The listed weight is each category's contribution to the overall score.
Manpower (25% weight)5/100
Air Force (20% weight)0/100
Navy (15% weight)0/100
Army (15% weight)1/100
Financial (15% weight)0/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare South Sudan
South Sudan military power FAQ
What is South Sudan's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks South Sudan #79 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are South Sudan's armed forces?
The current profile reports 185,000 active personnel, 0 reserve personnel and 0 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean South Sudan would win a war?
No. MSS summarizes selected inventory and spending figures. It does not model readiness, training, geography, alliances, logistics, doctrine, technology quality or political objectives.