Here at The Infographics Show we run an annual episode highlighting the world's most powerful
militaries for that year, and recently we've even been breaking it down by regions such
as our Top 10 Strongest Militaries in Europe- but what about the guys on the other end of
the scale?
What about the smallest militaries in the world?
Today it's time to show some love to the little guys, as we find out which countries have
the smallest militaries anywhere in the world!
15- Lesotho
Lesotho is a tiny nation that is completely surrounded by the territory of South Africa-
making it only one of three nations in the world that is completely enveloped within
another country.
It has a population of 2 million people and operates both an army and a tiny air force
made up of a few transport helicopters and two small turboprop cargo planes.
Because Lesotho's security is maintained by South Africa, the Lesotho Defense Force, as
it is known, is mainly focused on internal security and has been responsible for numerous
government coups- the most recent being in 2014.
Today the LDF numbers between two and three thousand personnel, and operates no heavy
equipment.
14- Suriname
Suriname is a country that most people living in the Western Hemisphere forget even exists-
and we're speaking from experience jrtr.
Situated on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America, Suriname is bordered by
the Atlantic ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil
to the south, and has a population of just over half a million people.
The tiny nation is the smallest in South America, and is a product of Dutch colonization efforts.
It remained a constituent state of the Netherlands until November 25th, 1975, when Suriname declared
independence and the Dutch were like, “sure, why not?”.
After feeding the coffers of the Netherlands for centuries as a sugar plantation worked
by slaves and asian indentured servants, letting Suriname become independent was really the
least the Dutch could do.
The Suriname National Army consists of a single light infantry battalion, a small special
forces corps, a staff support arm, and a military police corps.
All together the Suriname military numbers at around 2,000 soldiers.
The Surinamese air force operates three search and rescue helicopters, and their navy and
coast guard operate a small fleet of fast patrol boats meant to fight piracy and protect
Surinamese fisheries.
The nation receives some military aid from the Netherlands and the United States often
sends personnel to help train the Surinamese military.
Recently as China has sought to expand its influence closer to US shores and seek allies,
it has sent large amounts of aid to Surinamese government in the form of military hardware.
13- Luxembourg
A tiny landlocked country in Europe bordered by both France and Germany, Luxembourg has
suffered greatly thanks to two German invasions in two world wars.
Despite having a tiny military of about 1500 soldiers, Luxembourg's armed forces are quite
ferocious and have seen fighting everywhere from Korea to Afghanistan.
The army of Luxembourg consists of support and training staff along with two companies
of light infantry, which operate two up-armored Humvees armed with .50 caliber machine guns.
Luxembourg's special forces consists of two platoons who specialize in recon, and are
an active part of NATO's Allied Mobile Force.
12- Equatorial Guinea
A small country on the west coast of West Africa, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
has a population of 1.2 million and is ruled over by a President who holds the nation in
an iron grip.
Per the UN, the Republic has one of the worst human rights record in the world and has taken
no steps to address these issues.
It is however one of the greatest oil producers in sub-saharan Africa, and yet oil companies
who set up operation in the country all hire their own security forces due to a lack of
faith in the Guinean military.
With an estimated force of 1,450 soldiers, the Guinean military is split amongst an army,
navy, and a small air force.
Despite having a number of Soviet-built tanks and APCs, none of them are operational, and
the same goes for the four Su-25 fighter aircraft the air force operates.
The military suffers from very poor discipline and has little if any competency, as most
of the commanding officers of the military are all relatives of the current President.
11- East Timor
East Timor, or The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is located in Southeast Asia
and occupies half of the island of Timor- we'll let you figure out which side.
The small nation also claims several nearby islands and has a population of about 1.1
million people.
East Timor was originally colonized by the Portugese in the 16th century, and got its
independence in November 28th, 1975.
Nine days later however the Indonesian military invaded the country and occupied it, declaring
it a province of Indonesia the next year.
East Timor would become the first sovereign state of the 21th century when Indonesia relinquished
control and the nation joined the UN on May 20th, 2002.
The Timor Leste Defense Force numbers at about 1300 soldiers and is made up of an army with
a naval component.
The Army consists of two light infantry battalions and a military police platoon, which are all
armed only with small arms and have neither heavy vehicles or crew-served weapons.
The naval component is equipped with five small patrol boats meant to fight piracy and
protect local fisheries.
10- Bahamas
The world's premier vacation go-to hotspot is located in the Caribbean, and due to pretty
much everyone in the world being pretty cool with the Bahamas, has traditionally had little
need for a military.
Thus the Bahamian military is solely made up of a Navy, which is tasked with protecting
fisheries, combating piracy, and aiding in search and rescue and disaster relief operations.
With about 1300 sailors, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force is the largest Caribbean military,
and operates 10 patrol vessels and one landing craft.
A small air wing of one Super King Air patrol craft and one Cessna 208B transport supplement
the navy's capabilities and aid in reconnaissance of territorial waters.
The commander in Chief of the Bahamas military is Queen Elizabeth II, due to the nation's
status as a commonwealth realm similar to Canada and Australia.
The RBDF has only been involved in combat one time, when in 1980 one of its patrol craft
attempted to arrest two Cuban fishing ships poaching in their waters.
The Cuban ships called for help and Cuba sent two Mig-21s, which strafed the patrol boat
with their 23mm cannons, and then returned to fire on the crew members who had tried
to swim away from the sinking ship.
The poachers were eventually caught and convicted, and Cuba paid the Bahamas $10 million for
the sinking of the ship.
9- Cape Verde
A small nation made up of a string of volcanic islands off the coast of Africa, Cape Verde
has a population of just over half a million.
The nation has its roots in the 15th century when it was discovered and settled by Portuguese
explorers, and thrived until the end of the transatlantic slave trade in the 19th century.
With no natural resources, Cape Verde has a service and tourism focused economy, and
has been a stable democracy since 1990 and is one of the most developed and democratic
countries in Africa.
The Cape Verdean armed forces number at 1200, and is made up of a national guard and a coast
guard.
The national guard consists of a large military police corps, and a much smaller corps of
marines and artillery.
Despite having only ten Soviet-made BRDM-2 APCs, the artillery corps is equipped with
thirty six self-propelled guns ranging from 75 to 82 millimeters, and 6 mortars used to
support their Marines.
A small air corp of 3 patrol aircraft and two utility helicopters support a fleet of
three patrol vessels and one light cruiser.
8- Barbados
A small caribbean nation, Barbados has enjoyed a long cooperative relationship with the US
military, and the two nation's militaries regularly engage in training exercises together,
with the US providing equipment and training to its much smaller neighbor.
Its military consists of just over 1,000 service members and is known as the Barbados Defense
Force.
The military is split into three main components: the Barbados Regiment made up of light infantry
units, the coast guard, which operates a number of small patrol vessels and is tasked with
search and rescue and drug interdiction, and the cadet corps which oversees the training
of future military officers.
An air wing consisting of two patrol aircraft was retired in 1985, but today the BDF is
looking to acquire aircraft once more and reestablish its air wing.
7- Gambia
Earning its independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, Gambia is a small African country
located on the northwest coast of the great continent.
A nation completely surrounded by its larger neighbor, Senegal, there has been historically
little need for a Gambian military as its security is directly tied to Senegal itself.
After independence a Field Force of a few hundred men, a paramilitary arm of the police,
was set up, though a standing military was created after members of the Field Force executed
a coup d'etat in 1981, which was promptly defeated by a Senegal force of 500 men.
Today the Gambian military is split up into the Gambia National Army and the Gambia Navy,
with a small detachment known as the National Republican Guard mostly responsible for presidential
guard duties.
The army is made up of two light infantry battalions and is equipped with twelve armored
cars and might possess one M101 Howitzer.
The navy is responsible for protecting Gambian fisheries and is made up of several small
patrol vessels.
In 2002 Gambia explored the possibility of creating an air force and sent pilots to be
trained by Ukraine, and then purchased a Sukhoi Su-25 from Georgia the next year.
However the program was soon canceled and the air force was never established.
6- Seychelles
An island country in the west Indian Ocean, Seychelles is made up of 115 islands.
It proclaimed its independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, and has become one of Africa's
most prosperous nations, even being listed as a high-income economy by the World Bank.
Unfortunately high levels of income inequality has created a large amount of poverty within
the nation.
The Seychelles People's Defense Force numbers at 420 and consists of a company of light
infantry, a Coast Guard, an Air Force, and a Presidential Protection Unit.
The PDF operates no heavy equipment and the Coast Guard operates a small number of gunboats
and patrol boats.
The Air Force consists of four aircraft, all of them for search and rescue and recon.
5- Antigua and Barbuda
A country in the West Indies, Antigua and Barbuda consists of two major islands, one
named obviously enough Antigua and the other, Barbuda, along with a number of smaller islands.
Home to many seasonal citizens who own vacation properties in the nation, the permanent population
numbers just shy of 100,000.
Originally explored by Christopher Columbus in 1493, the islands were then colonized by
Britain in 1632.
Independence was granted by the United Kingdom on November 1st, 1981, though it remains a
member of the British commonwealth and thus Queen Elizabeth II technically remains the
country's queen and head of state.
The Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force numbers at 260 and is made up of four major
units: the Antigua and Barbuda Regiment which is comprised of four light infantry companies,
a service and support unit, and a coast guard equipped with several small patrol craft and
one Point-class cutter donated by the US Coast Guard.
A small cadet corps oversees the training of future military officers.
Despite their small size, Antigua and Barbuda have sent military forces three different
times to assist other nations- once in 1983 when fourteen soldiers were deployed in support
of the US in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury, in 1990 when twelve soldiers were sent
to Trinidad and Tobago after a failed coup attempt there, and in 1995 when a small contingent
was sent to Haiti in support of the US-led and UN mandated Operation Uphold Democracy
after a military coup threw out the elected President.
4- Iceland
Iceland is the only NATO member that maintains no standing military, and instead employs
a force of 250 sailors in its Icelandic Coast Guard.
During times of crisis though, elements of its police force become activated into military
service, and Iceland maintains an elite counter-terrorism unit also trained in special operations warfare
tactics.
Iceland also maintains the Icelandic Crisis Response Unit, which is responsible for expeditionary
peacekeeping operations and is made up of members of the national police, the coast
guard, emergency services, and health care system.
Because of the nature of the ICRUs missions, which includes ongoing deployment in Afghanistan
and Iraq, all members receive basic infantry training.
The Icelandic Coast Guard is equipped with four large patrol vessels equipped with cannons
and anti-air weapons.
It also operates one recon and search and rescue aircraft and three utility helicopters.
As a key strategic partner for the US due to its location, Iceland and the US cooperate
closely in anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and Iceland forms one end of the all-important
anti-submarine net that was meant to deny Soviet subs access to the Atlantic.
3- Haiti
A very troubled nation, Haiti officially disbanded its military in 1995 due to dozens of military
cups and the intervention of the military in Haitian politics.
In 2017 however, President Jovenel Moise remobilized the military, creating the Armed Forces of
Haiti.
Today the Haitian military consists of a National Police force and a Coast Guard, and both elements
cooperate closely with the US who provides material and training aid.
The coast guard operates nineteen small vessels and is responsible for drug interdiction,
search and rescue, and disaster relief operations.
2 – Palestine
A very troubled country, Palestine operates a military known as the Palestinian National
Security Forces, and yet due to a lack of clarity on what elements of the Palestinian
paramilitary are responsible for what, there is no official number on the size of Palestine's
military.
Not truly possessing a standing army, the PNSF is mostly responsible for various duties,
including the apprehension of terrorists and militants and security for high-ranking politicians.
The PNSF has been criticized numerous times for aiding terrorism, while at other times
has actively aided Israel in apprehending terrorists it itself arrested and then released
so that Israeli forces could extradite them.
1 – Libya
Thanks to an ongoing civil war, the size and scope of the Libyan Armed Forces are impossible
to estimate, and given that a sizable portion of the military defected in order to fight
on the side of the rebels at the start of hostilities, which group- the current government
or the rebels- is truly in command of the nation is a bit of a murky point.
What is known about the capabilities of the Libyan military though is it operates a number
of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, as well as a quickly diminishing number of tanks
which are destroyed or seized by rebels.
Wrapped up as it is in a desperate battle for survival, the Libyan military is wholly
reliant on the support of nations such as Russia for survival, and unable as it is to
enforce national sovereignty, it is for all intents and purposes one of the weakest militaries
in the world.
What other nations do you know of with tiny militaries?
Do some nations just not need a military at all?
Let us know in the comments!
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