Country Profile
🇿🇦
South Africa
Power index #63 / 118✓ No tracked active conflict
Composite power index · percentile among 118 scored countries#63
WEAKESTP25MEDIANP75STRONGEST
Figures are educated estimates from open reporting or, where marked, formula-modeled. Blank fields are not estimated, not assumed zero.
Overview
South Africa is located in Africa (Southern Africa). It has an estimated population of 63,000,000, with a nominal GDP of roughly $400 billion (about $6,349 per capita). Its armed forces field an estimated 75,000 active-duty personnel, backed by roughly 15,000 reservists, ranking #54 of 174 countries in this dataset by active personnel. Estimated annual defense spending is around $3B, roughly 0.8% of GDP. Its inventory includes an estimated 220 military aircraft, 190 tanks, 45 naval vessels.
Auto-generated from the figures on this page — not independently researched prose.
Global Standing percentile per metric
Active Conflicts
No tracked active conflicts involving South Africa. See the Conflict Watch map for all 19 tracked conflicts.
Share of World
of world population
63,000,000 people
of world GDP
$400B nominal
of world defense spending
$3B / year
of world active personnel
75,000 soldiers
Economy & Demographics
Manpower
Force Composition90,000 total personnel
Active 83%Reserve 17%
Financials & Strategic
Defense burden: 0.8% of GDP
Spend per active soldier: $40k / yr
Soldiers per 1,000 people: 1.2
🛰️Drone / UAV Capability
UndocumentedNo documented program in this dataset
Airpower
Helicopters (Total)
n/a
✈️Air Fleet Modernity
LIKELY AGINGHeuristic: defense spend per soldier ~$40k/yr
Land Power
🛡️Armor Fleet Modernity
LIKELY AGINGHeuristic: defense spend per soldier
Naval Power
⚓Naval Fleet Modernity
LIKELY AGINGHeuristic: defense spend per soldier, not a fleet inspection
Compare South Africa
No pre-built comparison pages for South Africa yet — open the Alliance Builder for any pairing or multi-country coalition.
Economic confidence: High. Military confidence: Low. Ranks shown as "#x of y" count only countries with a reported value for that metric. The composite power index averages the six category scores (log-scaled against the world leader per metric) and is this site's own model — not an official rating.