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Guinea-Bissau — Military Capability Assessment

Force structure, readiness, power projection, and deterrence: the Bureau’s strategic assessment of Guinea-Bissau’s military capability — scored 0–100 across 24 causal dimensions.

#63Guinea-Bissau39.06/100
Active personnel (est.)4,000
World rank by personnel#109 / 121
Military power rank#63 / 195
Assessment coverage61%
Inventory depthSummary
Why this score — the assessment, decomposed

The 39.06/100 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.

  • Alliance architecture adds a +5.78 bonus.
  • Nuclear deterrence contributes a capped +0.76 bonus — it cannot manufacture top-tier conventional standing on its own.
  • Extreme defense burden applies an economic-strain penalty of −2.00.

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.

The six sub-scores

Conventional capability34.70
Nuclear deterrence15.00
Power projection22.80
Sustainment70.00
Mobilization & regeneration67.75
Strategic resilience34.21

All 24 causal dimensions

Force mass Geographic & structural data · Bureau structural assessment64.00
Mobilization Bureau structural assessment · Conventional forces data70.00
Equipment qualitynot observed
Readiness & training Bureau structural assessment70.00
Command & control Geographic & structural data · Bureau structural assessment65.00
ISR & intelligencenot observed
Air power Bureau structural assessment8.00
Land warfare Geographic & structural data · Bureau structural assessment64.00
Naval power Bureau structural assessment22.80
Submarine force Bureau structural assessment8.00
Missile forcesnot observed
Air defensenot observed
Cyber & spacenot observed
Logistics Bureau structural assessment70.00
Strategic liftnot observed
Overseas basingnot observed
Expeditionary capabilitynot observed
Defense industrynot observed
Wartime productionnot observed
Combat experience Historical record10.00
Alliances Bureau structural assessment · Geographic & structural data48.12
Nuclear deterrence Nuclear taxonomy · Bureau structural assessment15.00
Nuclear survivability Bureau structural assessment · Nuclear taxonomy6.50
Geographic advantage Bureau structural assessment · Geographic & structural data33.56

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.

Air power
Structured summary · assessment coverage 61%

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.

Land power
Structured summary · assessment coverage 61%

Kernel assessment: Land warfare 64.00/100 (observed).

Type-by-type inventory in preparation — this dossier deepens as coverage grows. Nothing here is estimated silently.

Sea power
Structured summary · assessment coverage 61%

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.

Missiles & air defense
Structured summary · assessment coverage 61%

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.

Nuclear
Structured summary · assessment coverage 61%

Status: Non-nuclear-weapon state; party to the NPT

Nuclear deterrence15.00
Nuclear survivability6.50
Force structure — record

Armed forces

People's Revolutionary Armed Force (Forcas Armadas Revolucionarias do Povo or FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force Ministry of Internal Administration: National Guard (a gendarmerie force), Public Order Police, Border Police, Rapid Intervention Police, Maritime Police (2025)

Personnel strength

estimated 4,000 active FARP (2025)

Equipment

the FARP is outfitted mostly with Soviet-era weapons and equipment (2025)

Service age & obligation

18-25 years of age for selective compulsory military service for men and women (Air Force service is voluntary) (2025)

Note

the Armed Forces (FARP) are focused on external security, but also has some internal security duties; the FARP and the paramilitary National Guard have been influential in the country’s politics since independence and have attempted several coups; since the 2000s, the FARP has undergone various attempts at defense and security sector reforms under the auspices of the African Union, the EU, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), and the UN (2025)

Magna assessment

MILITARY POWER 39.06/100 — 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).

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.

Related

Power indexMilitary indexLargest armiesGuinea-Bissau — FactbookGuinea-Bissau — RankingsLeader: Guinea-Bissau

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Guinea-Bissau — Country ProfileDid Guinea-Bissau acquire Security inspection equipment?Did Guinea-Bissau acquire SETAF-AF training mission?What are the main airports of Guinea-Bissau?History of Guinea-Bissau — TimelineHorta Inta-a — Leader of Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau Ranking — Magna Country RankingsWhat is the population of Guinea-Bissau?