Algeria’s Military Spending Surge: Sahel Tensions Fuel Record Defense Budget

Algeria is accelerating the pace. The defense budget is increasing from around $22 billion in 2023 to $25 billion in 2026, the highest military budget in the country’s history. According to experts, Algeria’s borders with countries south of the Sahara have posed a significant threat to its security for at least ten years, for several reasons: the instability of some of these countries, the proliferation of extremist groups, the arms and drug trade, as well as the significant activity of clandestine migration networks.

This sharp increase in the budget is also explained by the tension with Mali, a consequence of the shooting down of a Malian drone near the border town of Tinzaouatine, south of Algeria, by the armed forces of this country, as well as the danger posed by the unstable situation in Libya, a country whose security situation has been chaotic since 2011. The breakdown of relations between Morocco and Algeria since 2021, and the military rapprochement between the kingdom and Israel, also justify the increase in the military budget of the Algerian army. The Sahara issue remains one of the points of friction between Algiers and Rabat.