Armament at the heart of the rivalry between Rabat and Algiers

Due to tensions arising from their differences on the Sahara question, Algeria, protector of the Polisario, and Morocco have intensified their arms race to the point of becoming the biggest spenders in North Africa.

Morocco and Algeria remain at the top of military spending in North Africa, reveals the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Algeria’s military spending increased by 76%, reaching $18.3 billion, “the highest level of spending ever recorded by Algeria and the largest annual increase in its spending since 1974”, says namely SIPRI. In contrast, Morocco’s military spending fell for the second consecutive year, reaching $5.2 billion. However, the two nations “remain, by far, the biggest spenders in the sub-region, representing between them 82% of North Africa’s total military spending in 2023,” underlines SIPRI.