Force structure, readiness, power projection, and deterrence: the Bureau’s strategic assessment of Cabo Verde’s military capability — scored 0–100 across 24 causal dimensions.
The 37.83/100 rests first on Mobilization (70.00), Readiness & training (70.00), Logistics (70.00). The binding constraints: Air power (8.00), Submarine force (8.00), Nuclear survivability (6.50) — in a causal model, capability can never rise above its weakest observed link. What would move the needle: Air power (8.00) — the weak link in the spending → equipment → readiness → capability chain.
10 of 24 dimensions could not be observed (Equipment quality, ISR & intelligence, Missile forces, Air defense, Cyber & space, Strategic lift…); missing data caps the score — it never inflates it.
Assessment coverage: 60.9% — 14 of 24 dimensions observed. Kernel v10, run 2026-10-04; evidence snapshot: CIA World Factbook 2026-09-28, SIPRI arms-producer revenue, v9 nuclear taxonomy.
Kernel assessment: Air power 8.00/100 (observed).
Type-by-type inventory in preparation — this dossier deepens as coverage grows. Nothing here is estimated silently.
Kernel assessment: Land warfare 57.00/100 (observed).
Type-by-type inventory in preparation — this dossier deepens as coverage grows. Nothing here is estimated silently.
Kernel assessment: Naval power 22.80/100 (observed).
Type-by-type inventory in preparation — this dossier deepens as coverage grows. Nothing here is estimated silently.
Missile forces could not be observed in this assessment — missing data caps the score, it is never treated as zero.
Type-by-type inventory in preparation — this dossier deepens as coverage grows. Nothing here is estimated silently.
Status: Non-nuclear-weapon state; party to the NPT
Cabo Verdean Armed Forces (FACV): National Guard (GN), Cabo Verde Coast Guard (Guardia Costeira de Cabo Verde, GCCV) (2025)
the FACV has approximately 1,000-1,500 active personnel (2025)
the FACV has a limited amount of mostly dated or secondhand equipment, largely from China, some European countries, and the former Soviet Union (2025)
17 years of age for voluntary service (with parental consent); 18-35 years of age for selective compulsory service (14-month service obligation) (2025)
the FACV is responsible for external defense; it also has an internal security role in collaboration with the police if required; its duties include monitoring and patrolling the country's air and maritime spaces, participating in training exercises, conducting search and rescue, countering narcotics and other forms of illicit trafficking, and supporting the police and civil society (2025)
MILITARY POWER 37.83/100 — The Magna Military Power score is our 0–100 measure of causal military capability — 24 dimensions (mass, equipment, readiness, projection, industry, nuclear deterrence), aggregated through a dependency graph, never by simple addition.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Nothing in Jul–Sep 2026 moved the needle. The institutions functioned, the economy ran its course, and the world looked elsewhere.
That is the honest note: a quarter of normalcy, scored as such.
