Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Cameroon.
| Active personnel (est.) | 50,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #65 / 162 |
POWER 40.67/100 — 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).
The quarter's signal was silence: no major domestic development, no external shock, no diplomatic breakthrough.
The country's course remains what it was in June — set by structural realities that no single quarter rewrites.
Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC): Army, Cameroon Navy (includes naval infantry or fusiliers marin), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Firefighting Corps General Delegation for National Security (Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale or DGSN): Cameroon Police (2025)
estimated 40-50,000 active FAC, including the Gendarmerie (2025)
the FAC inventory is comprised of armaments from a variety of countries, including China, Israel, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Africa, the US, and some Western European countries, particularly France (2025)
18-23 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (18-28 for medical services); no conscription; service obligation 4 years (2025)
750 (plus about 400 police) Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (2025)
the Cameroon Armed Forces (FAC) are responsible for defending the country's territorial integrity, providing humanitarian assistance, supporting regional peacekeeping operations, and contributing to internal security; key areas of focus are the threat from the terrorist groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa along its frontiers with Nigeria and Chad (Far North region) and, since 2016, an insurgency from armed Anglophone separatist groups in the North-West and South-West regions; in addition, the FAC often deploys ground units to the border region with the Central African Republic to counter intrusions from armed militias and bandits; the Navy’s missions include protecting Cameroon’s oil installations, combatting crime and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and patrolling the country’s lakes and rivers; the FAC's small Air Force supports both the ground and naval forces (2025)
