South Sudan Military - 2024

Military and security forces

South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF): Ground Force (includes Presidential Guard), Air Force, Air Defense Forces; National (or Necessary) Unified Forces (NUF)

Ministry of Interior: South Sudan National Police Service (2023)

note 1: the NUF are being formed by retraining rebel and pro-government militia fighters into military, police, and other government security forces; the first operational NUF deployed in November 2023

note 2: numerous irregular forces operate in the country with official knowledge, including militias operated by the National Security Service (an internal security force under the Ministry of National Security) and proxy forces

Military expenditures

2.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
2% of GDP (2021 est.)
2% of GDP (2020 est.)
3.1% of GDP (2019 est.)
3.2% of GDP (2018 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

estimated 150-200,000 active personnel, mostly ground forces with small contingents of air and riverine forces (2023)

note: some active SSPDF personnel may be militia; the National/Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) are expected to have up to 80,000 personnel when training and integration is completed; the first batch of approximately 20,000 NUF personnel completed training in late 2022

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the SSPDF inventory is primarily of Soviet origin; South Sudan has been under a UN arms embargo since 2018 (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory (men) and voluntary (men and women) military service; 12-24 months service (2023)

note: in 2019, women made up less than 10% of the active military

Military deployments

in 2023, South Sudan sent approximately 750 troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an East Africa Community military peacekeeping force

Military - note

the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) are largely focused on internal security; the Ground Force has approximately eight light infantry divisions plus a mechanized presidential guard division (aka the Tiger Division); the Air Force has small numbers of transport aircraft and combat helicopters 

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 had about 15,000 personnel deployed in the country as of 2023

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; UNISFA's 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; as of 2023, UNISFA had approximately 3,500 personnel assigned (2023)