Many African countries are substantially increasing their military spending. Faced with empty coffers, governments are having to make difficult decisions about how much to spend on security.

Nigeria, increasingly concerned about security in the country, bought a shipment of combat cars from China a few months ago. Already in early 2020, the government had ordered 15 Chinese military vehicles to modernize the national armed forces.

According to the Stockholm-based Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and quoted by DW, Abuja spent more on arms in 2021 than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa: $4.5 billion, or a 56% increase over the previous year.

This year, Nigeria is spending even more money, according to the latest publication of the Global Firepower Index (GFP), a US website that publishes an annual ranking of the world's armed forces. To compile the index, 142 countries are observed and more than 50 criteria - including military budget - are taken into account.

The PFM also has current year budgets now available, partly based on estimates. These indicate that Nigeria will invest the equivalent of more than US$5.9 billion in its armed forces in 2022, putting it ahead of South Africa, with US$2.9 billion, and Kenya, with just under US$1.2 billion.

African countries increased their military spending last year overall, despite the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Darren Olivier, director of the African Defence Review, an independent media company specializing in conflict and defense in Africa.

According to a SIPRI report published in April, spending across Africa increased by 1.2% in 2021 compared to 2020, spending the equivalent of $39.7 billion on military equipment.

Half, about 20.1 billion US dollars, was spent by the countries south of the Sahara.

Kenya, Uganda and Angola had the third, fourth and fifth largest military budgets in sub-Saharan Africa respectively.

When it comes to military budgets, the absolute numbers are hardly significant. "Spending should always be measured against the size of the economy," Judy Smith-Höhn, director of the Tutwa consulting group in South Africa, told DW.

For example, in 2021, small country Botswana spent 2.9% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense, according to SIPRI. By comparison, South Africa's 2022/23 defense budget represents 0.7% of GDP, calculated expert Darren Olivier. SIPRI estimates that the global average spending in the sector last year equaled 2.2% of GDP.

Spending by Mozambique, one of Africa's poorest countries grappling with violent conflict in the north of the country, last year accounted for 1.5% of GDP - down 0.5% from 2020, according to SIPRI.

Already, Nigeria's defense budget reached 1.02% of GDP in 2021; the figure was only 0.6% the year before. "Which is very little" in view of the challenges the country faces, Olivier comments.

"The state is very vulnerable to security crises because of its vast territory, which it cannot fully monitor, and its long borders, which are difficult to control."

The high price of security

Nigeria is one of the countries hardest hit by violent attacks from the Islamic terrorist militia Boko Haram, which has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in the northeast of the country. A few days ago, Ali Ndume, the chairman of the Senate military committee, called for a state of emergency to be declared. According to the senator, the Nigerian Army is underfunded and understaffed to combat the growing insecurity in the country.

Terrorist attacks also threaten East Africa. The tense relationship with neighboring Somalia has prompted Kenya - which ranks 81st in the global PFM index - to modernize its army over the past two decades.

The Al-Shabaab terrorist militia in neighboring Somalia made modernization inevitable: According to Olivier, Kenyan soldiers had to learn to be more effective in special operations. These operations are always costly. Kenya has been part of an African military mission in the neighboring country since 2011 and has troops stationed in the border region of Jubaland.

South Africa: High wages for soldiers

But not everyone can fund an army of the same level with identical sums. South Africa - which ranks 26th in the GFP index - has comparatively high labor costs, which is reflected in the salaries and wages of uniformed personnel and civil servants, says Olivier: "An average South African soldier makes expenses two or three times higher than his Nigerian counterpart. And five times more than in many other countries on the continent."

According to the analyst, the country at the southern tip of the continent has to maintain the security of a huge airspace and a land and sea border many thousands of kilometers long. This requires the use of a wide range of high-tech systems.

Even more important is the South African Army's participation in peacekeeping operations, says Judy Smith-Höhn: "For years South Africa has played a key role in neighboring Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also one of the countries that provides one of the largest contingents of troops for United Nations peacekeeping missions."

Smith-Hoehn says that South Africa's defense budget is still relatively small, "This year, the military budget was cut by 14%."

The Ministry of Defense complains that it lacks the financial means to be able to work, the expert adds. In addition to defense, says Smith-Höhn, the South African Army monitors coastal waters and borders, controls illegal immigration, and more recently has begun deploying soldiers to contain social unrest, as happened in July 2021. All of these are additional tasks for the Armed Forces, the researcher emphasizes.