Niger vs. Benin
Military
| Niger | Benin | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Nigerien Air Force, Niger Gendarmerie (GN); Ministry of Interior: Niger National Guard (GNN; aka Republican Guard), National Police (includes the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, which is charged with border management) (2020) note: the Gendarmerie is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and has primary responsibility for rural security; the National Guard is responsible for domestic security and the protection of high-level officials and government buildings | Benin Armed Forces (Forces Armees Beninoises, FAB): Army, Navy, Air Force; Ministry of Interior and Public Security: Republican Police (Police Republicaine, DGPR) (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | has conscription, although it is reportedly not always enforced; 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory or voluntary military service; enlistees must be Nigerien citizens and unmarried; 2-year service term; women may serve in health care (2019) | 18-35 years of age for selective compulsory and voluntary military service; a higher education diploma is required; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% of GDP (2019) 2.5% of GDP (2018) 2.5% of GDP (2017) 2.2% of GDP (2016) 2.1% of GDP (2015) | 0.7% of GDP (2019) 0.9% of GDP (2018) 1.3% of GDP (2017) 1.1% of GDP (2016) 1.1% of GDP (2015) |
| Military - note | as of late 2020, the FAN was conducting counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations against Islamic militants on two fronts; in the Diffa region, the Nigeria-based Boko Haram terrorist group has conducted dozens of attacks on security forces, army bases, and civilians; on Niger's western border with Mali, the Islamic State-West Africa (ISWA) has conducted numerous attacks on security personnel; a series of ISWA attacks on FAN forces near the Malian border in December of 2019 and January of 2020 resulted in the deaths of more than 170 soldiers; terrorist attacks continued throughout 2020 and into 2021 Niger is part of a five-nation anti-jihadist task force known as the G5 Sahel Group, set up in 2014 with Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Chad; it has committed 1,100 troops and 200 gendarmes to the force; in early 2020, G5 Sahel military chiefs of staff agreed to allow defense forces from each of the states to pursue terrorist fighters up to 100 km into neighboring countries; the G5 force is backed by the UN, US, and France; G5 troops periodically conduct joint operations with French forces deployed to the Sahel under Operation Barkhane Niger also has about 1,000 troops committed to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own country territories, although cross-border operations are conducted periodically | Benin participates in the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram along with Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; the Benin military contingent is in charge of MNJTF garrison duties (2020) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 10,000 active troops (est. 6,000 Army; 200 Air Force; 4,000 Gendarmerie); est. 3,000 National Guard (2020) | the Benin Armed Forces (FAB) are comprised of approximately 7,000 active duty troops; est. 5,000 Republican Police (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the FAN's inventory consists of a wide variety of older weapons; since 2010, the FAN has received small amounts of mostly second-hand equipment and donations from China, France, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, and the US (2020) | the FAB is equipped with a small mix of mostly older French and Soviet-era equipment (2021) |
| Military deployments | 870 Mali (MINUSMA) (Jan 2021) | 250 Mali (MINUSMA) (Jan 2021) |
Source: CIA Factbook
