According to the 2016 world armies ranking, published by the American website specialised in defence Global Fire Power (GFP), Cameroon's army is ranked 106th in the world, out of 126 surveyed countries. The country is also 20th in Africa, 5 positions behind Chad ranked 15th on the African continent and first military power in the CEMAC.

Egypt is the first African military power and 12th worldwide, followed by Algeria (26th globally), Ethiopia (42nd worldwide), Nigeria (44th globally) and South Africa (46th), who complete the African top 5. On a global scale, the first military power remains the USA, followed by Russia, China, India and France.

According to its creators, this ranking takes into account over 50 factors chosen in such manner to ensure that small armies, sometimes more technologically advanced, can compete with larger but less technologically developed armies.

Moreover, Global Fire Power specifies, "this ranking did not only take into account the total number of weapons available per country, but rather put the emphasis on the diversity in the weaponry of the States, in order to reach a better balance on the available firepower". At the same time, we learn, "the geography, logistical flexibility, natural resources and local industry had an impact on the final ranking"