Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Afghanistan.
POWER 20.43/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Steadiness was the quarter's defining trait: no rupture, no windfall, no surprise strong enough to move the score.
The trajectory remains set by fundamentals that change over years, not quarters — and this quarter changed little.
the Taliban claims authority over a Ministry of Defense and a National Army (aka Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate Army, or Afghan Army); it has also formed police forces under a Ministry of Interior (2025)
the Taliban claims to have 190,000 under the Ministry of Defense and 215,000 under the Ministry of Interior (2025)
the Taliban military and security forces are equipped with armaments captured in 2021 from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, which were largely equipped with Russian/Soviet-era and US material (2025)
service is voluntary; there is no conscription (2023)
the Taliban’s key security priorities are border and internal security; specific issues have included tensions with Pakistan along their shared border, armed anti-Taliban resistance elements, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist group (2025)
