FORCETALLY
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NATIONAL FORCES · COMPARISON
Eritrea vs South Sudan
| Overview | Eritrea | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
Active personnel DefinitionFull-time active military personnel; exclude reserves and paramilitary unless explicitly identified. | 301,750Estimate · people · 2026 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceFull-time active military personnel in the 2026 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Excludes the separately reported Reserve military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date or a 2026 headcount. | 153,000Estimate · people · November 2025 IISS assessmentSingle sourceNational full-time active military personnel; the separately reported reserve, gendarmerie and paramilitary totals are excluded. |
Armed forces personnel DefinitionActive-duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces whose training, organisation, equipment and control allow them to support or replace regular forces. This is not an active-regular-only count. | 202,000people · 2020 annual observationSingle source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. | 53,000people · 2020 annual observationSingle source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. |
Defence spending DefinitionAnnual military expenditure in current US dollars. State fiscal year, coverage and conversion basis in notes. | US$181.58mUSD · 2003 annual observationSingle source2003 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders. | US$78.6mEstimate · USD · 2025 IISS defence budget assessmentSingle sourceSource-reported annual official defence budget/appropriation in current US dollars; it is a budget figure, not an assertion of final expenditure or readiness. Explicit 2025 economic-table year column; USD 78.6m. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. Source coverage/fiscal-year notes: [a] Security and law enforcement spending |
GDP DefinitionAnnual nominal GDP in current US dollars, not purchasing-power parity. | US$2.07bnUSD · 2011 annual observationSingle source2011 annual observation. Annual nominal GDP, current US dollars; not purchasing-power parity. | US$6.03bnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS nominal GDP forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceAnnual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 6.03bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. |
Population DefinitionTotal resident population; retain the source's reference year. | 3,607,003people · 2025 annual observationSingle source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. | 12,188,788people · 2025 annual observationSingle source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. |
Reserve personnel DefinitionReported reserve personnel, with mobilisation and training definitions stated in notes. | —Not yet documented | 0Estimate · people · 2024 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceMilitary reserve personnel in the 2024 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Reservists are not normally kept under arms and are available for mobilisation. Excludes the separately reported Active military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date. |
Combat aircraft DefinitionIn-service fixed-wing combat aircraft; exclude stored, retired and ordered aircraft. In service does not establish readiness. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Main battle tanks DefinitionIn-service main battle tanks; exclude storage and orders. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Major surface combatants DefinitionCommissioned cruisers, destroyers and frigates. Exclude patrol craft and support vessels. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Nuclear warheads DefinitionWarheads in the military stockpile, deployed or in reserve; exclude retired warheads awaiting dismantlement. Independent estimates, labelled as such. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Submarines DefinitionCommissioned submarines; exclude vessels on order and decommissioned vessels. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Transport aircraft DefinitionIn-service dedicated fixed-wing military transport aircraft; exclude trainers and orders. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
86 matching equipment types
| Equipment | Eritrea | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | ||
| Mikoyan MiG-29 | 4Air Force · 2025 | — |
| Sukhoi Su-27 | 1Air Force · 2025 2Eritrean Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Support aircraft | ||
| Antonov An-26 | — | 2South Sudan Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Beechcraft King Air | 12024 | — |
| Beechcraft Super King Air | 1Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia | — |
| Boeing 727 | — | 1South Sudan Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Harbin Y-12 | 4Air Force · 2025 4Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia | — |
| Let L-410 Turbolet | — | 2South Sudan Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Trainer aircraft | ||
| Aero L-39 Albatros | — | In service |
| Helicopters | ||
| AgustaWestland AW109 | — | 1South Sudan Air Force · 2025 |
| Bell 412 | 1Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia | — |
| Mil Mi-17 | 6Eritrean Air Force · 2025Wikipedia | 1South Sudan Air Force · 2025 |
| Equipment | Eritrea | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Tanks | ||
| Chonma-ho | In service | — |
| T-54/T-55 | 270Army · 2025 270Eritrean Army · 2025 | In service |
| T-72 | — | 1102013Wikipedia |
| Armoured vehicles | ||
| BMP-1 | 15Army · 2025 15Eritrean Army · 2025 | — |
| BRDM-1 | In service | — |
| BRDM-2 | 402024Wikipedia | — |
| BTR-152 | 252024Wikipedia | — |
| BTR-60 | 252024Wikipedia | — |
| Mamba APC | — | 12026Wikipedia |
| MT-LB | 102024Wikipedia | — |
| Reva APC | — | In service |
| Artillery | ||
| 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) | In service | In service |
| Equipment | Eritrea | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Air defence | ||
| S-125 Neva/Pechora | — | 16Army · 2025 |
| ZSU-23-4 Shilka | 32024Wikipedia | — |
| Anti-aircraft guns | ||
| 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) | — | In service |
| AZP S-60 | In service | — |
| ZU-23-2 | 62024Wikipedia | In service |
| Portable air defence | ||
| 9K32 Strela-2 | In service | In service |
| 9K38 Igla | 2002010Wikipedia | — |
| Missiles | ||
| R-27 (air-to-air missile) | In service | — |
| R-60 (missile) | In service | — |
| R-73 (missile) | In service | — |
| R-77 | In service | — |
| Equipment | Eritrea | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Small arms | ||
| AK-47 | In service | — |
| AKM | In service | — |
| AMD-65 | — | In service |
| Beretta BM 59 | In service | — |
| DShK | In service | In service |
| FN FAL | — | In service |
| IWI Galil ACE | — | In service |
| KPV heavy machine gun | In service | — |
| M14 rifle | In service | — |
| M1918 Browning automatic rifle | — | In service |
| M79 grenade launcher | In service | — |
| Makarov pistol | In service | — |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 6,416,435 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
No shared land boundary is represented in the Natural Earth dataset. Approximate separation between the dataset’s country label points: 1,300 km.
Generalized geography from Natural Earth 1:110m, version 5.1.1. Label-point distance is calculated on a sphere and rounded to the nearest 100 km; it is not a capital-to-capital distance, route, border distance or operational range. Dataset boundaries do not imply recognition of territorial claims.
Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:110m, v5.1.1 · Public domain · Research catalogue highlighted
Eritrea4.9Ranked #94+0.1South Sudan3.2Ranked #137-2.1Scores out of 100 on the ForceTally Index. Each bar splits in proportion to the two scores. A point at the centre of the chart means no sourced figure for that part.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 13,300,066 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
| 2025 annual observation | 12,188,788 people | World Bank; WDI contributors | approved |