Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on South Sudan.
| Active personnel (est.) | 200,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #31 / 162 |
POWER 10.23/100 — 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).
No single event defined Jul–Sep 2026. The country's position is the product of long-cycle forces — geography, trade, neighbours — all of which held steady.
Momentum at zero is not stagnation; it is the accurate record of a quarter without a catalyst.
South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF): Land Forces (includes Presidential Guard), Air Forces, Marine (Riverine) Forces, Reserve Forces; National (or Necessary) Unified Forces (NUF) Ministry of Interior: South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) (2025)
information varies; estimated 150-200,000 active Defense Forces (2025)
the SSPDF inventory is a mix of primarily of Soviet-era armaments alongside limited quantities of more modern equipment such as armored personnel carriers from UAE (2025)
18 (legal minimum age)-35 for voluntary military service for men and women; 12-24 months service (2025)
the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) are largely focused on border and internal security; areas of concern include disputed national borders, conflict spillover from neighboring Sudan, banditry, and armed rebel groups and militias that continue to operate in the country since the civil war ended in 2020 the SSPDF, formerly the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), was founded as a guerrilla movement against the Sudanese Government in 1983 and participated in the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005); the Juba Declaration that followed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 unified the SPLA and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), the second-largest rebel militia remaining from the civil war, under the SPLA name; in 2017, the SPLA was renamed the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF) and in September 2018 was renamed again as the SSPDF the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has operated in the country since 2011 with the objectives of consolidating peace and security and helping establish conditions for the successful economic and political development of South Sudan; UNMISS has about 18,000 personnel assigned; the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has operated in the disputed Abyei region along the border between Sudan and South Sudan since 2011; its mission includes ensuring security, protecting civilians, strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service, de-mining, monitoring/verifying the redeployment of armed forces from the area, and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid; UNISFA has approximately 3,800 personnel assigned (2025)
