Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Djibouti.
| Active personnel (est.) | 12,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #123 / 162 |
POWER 35.36/100 — 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).
A quiet quarter: no major shocks, no breakthroughs. The country's trajectory is set by structural forces larger than any single season.
The honest reading is steadiness — neither crisis nor windfall — with the long currents of demography, trade and institutions deciding more than any three months.
Djibouti Armed Forces (Forces Armées Djiboutiennes or FAD): Djiboutian (or National) Army, Djiboutian Navy (includes Djiboutian Coast Guard), Djiboutian Air Force; Djiboutian National Gendarmerie Ministry of Interior: National Police (Police Nationale) (2025)
estimated 10-12,000 active Armed Forces, including Gendarmerie (2025)
the FAD's inventory is a mix of mostly older or secondhand equipment from a variety of suppliers, including China, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Africa, Türkiye, and the US (2025)
18-26 years of age for voluntary military service (2025)
approximately 1,500 Somalia (AUSSOM) (2025)
Djibouti's military forces are largely focused on border, coastal, and internal security duties, such as counterterrorism; as recently as February 2025, Djiboutian forces have conducted operations near its border with Ethiopia against members of the Armed Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD A), which Djibouti considers a terrorist group China, France, Italy, Japan, and the US maintain bases in Djibouti for regional military missions, including counterterrorism, counter-piracy, crisis response, and security assistance; other countries, such as Germany and Spain, have smaller military contingents; the EU and NATO also maintain a presence in Djibouti to support multinational naval counter-piracy operations and maritime training efforts (2025)
