Morocco's defense budget trails Algeria's $25 billion

Morocco continues to increase its defense budget, and next year is expected to be no exception, following the trend set in the 2023 and 2024 Finance Acts. «The authorized expenditure for the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of National Defense is set at 133.453 billion dirhams (approximately $13.5 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year», states Article 39 of the 2025 Finance Bill, presented to both Houses of Parliament on Saturday by Finance and Economy Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui.

«This amount is allocated for the acquisition and maintenance of equipment for the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), as well as support for the development of the defense industry», the same source explained. In 2024, the ministry headed by Abdellatif Loudiyi was allocated 124.7 billion dirhams, compared to 119.7 billion in 2023.

Despite the increase in the 2025 budget, Morocco’s defense spending remains below the $25 billion that Algeria has allocated for its military in 2025—a record, according to local media. Last year, Algeria allocated $21.6 billion to defense, a significant increase over the $18 billion approved by both Houses of the Algerian Parliament and officially published in January 2023.

According to a report on global defense spending by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Morocco reduced its arms purchases by 2.5% in 2023, totaling $5.2 billion (52.487 billion dirhams). In contrast, «Algeria’s military spending rose by 76% to $18.3 billion, the highest level of defense expenditure ever recorded by Algeria», SIPRI noted in April.