Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Gabon.
| Active personnel (est.) | 7,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #142 / 162 |
POWER 48.92/100 — 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).
An uneventful quarter, recorded without embellishment: no breakthrough to celebrate, no setback to mourn.
The longer forces — demographics, trade routes, regional balances — kept doing what they do, and the country rode them steadily.
Gabonese Armed Forces (Force Armées Gabonaise or FAG; aka National Defense and Security Forces of Gabon or des Forces Nationales de Défense et de Sécurité (FNDS) du Gabon): Army, Navy, Air Force, Light Aviation, Fire Brigade; Gabon National Gendarmerie (GENA); Republican Guard (GR); Military Health Service; Military Engineering (2025)
approximately 7,000 active-duty Armed Forces including the Republican Guard and Gendarmerie (2025)
the Gabonese military has a mix of older and limited quantities of more modern armaments; suppliers include Brazil, China, France, Germany, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Africa, and Spain (2025)
18-24 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2025)
the Gabonese military is a small and lightly armed force that is responsible for both external and internal security; the military may also participate in the economic and social development work of the nation; key defense priorities include securing the country's borders and maritime domain; it has contributed to regional peacekeeping and joint security operations; in August 2023, officers from the Republican Guard seized control of the government and placed the president under arrest (2025)
