Skip to main content Suriname — Military Capability Assessment
Rankings · Power · Military

Suriname — Military Capability Assessment

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

#126Suriname31.33/100
Military power rank#126 / 195
Assessment coverage61%
Inventory depthSummary
Why this score — the assessment, decomposed

The 31.33/100 rests first on Command & control (65.00), Force mass (58.00), Land warfare (58.00). 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 +0.62 bonus — it cannot manufacture top-tier conventional standing on its own.
  • Extreme defense burden applies an economic-strain penalty of −2.00.
  • Force mass is capped by what equipment, training and sustainment can actually support — headcount alone scores nothing.

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 capability28.33
Nuclear deterrence15.00
Power projection22.80
Sustainment45.00
Mobilization & regeneration49.88
Strategic resilience28.78

All 24 causal dimensions

Force mass Geographic & structural data · Bureau structural assessment58.00
Mobilization Bureau structural assessment · Conventional forces data45.00
Equipment qualitynot observed
Readiness & training Bureau structural assessment45.00
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 assessment58.00
Naval power Bureau structural assessment22.80
Submarine force Bureau structural assessment8.00
Missile forcesnot observed
Air defensenot observed
Cyber & spacenot observed
Logistics Bureau structural assessment45.00
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 data35.43

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 58.00/100 (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

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

Armed forces

Suriname National Army (Nationaal Leger or NL); Army (Landmacht), Navy (Marine); Air Force (Luchtmacht), Military Police (Korps Militaire Politie) Ministry of Justice and Police: Suriname Police Force (Korps Politie Suriname or KPS) (2026)

Personnel strength

approximately 2,000 National Army (2025)

Equipment

the Suriname Army has a limited inventory of older or secondhand armaments originating from such suppliers as Brazil, France, the Netherlands, and India (2025)

Service age & obligation

18-28 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2025)

Note

the National Leger is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Suriname against foreign aggression; other special tasks include border control and supporting domestic security as required; the military police, for example, have direct responsibility for immigration control at the country’s ports of entry, and the military assists the police in combating crime, particularly narco-trafficking, including joint military and police patrols, as well as joint special security teams; in addition, the military provides aid and assistance during times of natural emergencies and participates in socio-economic development projects (2025)

Magna assessment

MILITARY POWER 31.33/100 — 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).

Steadiness was the quarter's defining trait: no rupture, no windfall, no surprise strong enough to move the score.

The trajectory remains set by fundamentals that change over years, not quarters — and this quarter changed little.

Related

Power indexMilitary indexLargest armiesSuriname — FactbookSuriname — RankingsLeader: Suriname

Across the Bureau

Suriname — Country ProfileWhat are the main airports of Suriname?Does Suriname have oil and gas pipelines?History of Suriname — TimelineJennifer Geerlings-Simons — Leader of SurinameSuriname Ranking — Magna Country RankingsWhat is the population of Suriname?Who is the president of Suriname?