The exact percentage of the budget of the Beninese armed forces devoted to intelligence services is not specifically detailed in available public documents [1][2]. The precise distribution ofdefence and security expenditures, in particular those devoted to secret elements relating to security national security and intelligence services in Benin, is classified for national security reasons [1] [2]. Budgets allocated to intelligence activities are generally classified as sensitive and are not publicly detailed. There are no accessible figures regarding the precise distribution ofdefence spending. Even the budget reports or budget proposals fordefence and security do not indicate the amounts reserved for these expenses [2].

The budget allocated to the Defence and security sector and the national intelligence service is not broken down, it is provided in a global manner. It is therefore impossible to determine what percentage is allocated to the positions kept secret. [1] [2] [3]

In Cameroon, a part of the defence and security budget is allocated to secret items, which are classified for national security reasons. However, the transparency and oversight of these expenditures are very limited, raising concerns about potential abuse and corruption. Indeed, secret spending is exempt from public disclosure.[1] There is minimal public or parliamentary scrutiny of these allocations, making it difficult to determine their purpose or amount. This opacity contributes to higher risk of corruption. The limited information available on secret items within the defence and security budget, coupled with the lack of effective independent oversight, indicates that current practices do not meet acceptable standards of transparency.[1][2][3]

The percentage of expenditure allocated to secret service posts is not made public. There are several intelligence agencies: the CNR (National Intelligence Coordination), the DES (Foreign Services Directorate) and finally the CROAT (Operational Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Centre), the Strategic Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence [1]. Although the 2025 draft budget refers to the 2025 commitment authorisation and the 2025 payment appropriation, it does so only in a very elliptical manner. The amounts allocated to intelligence-related activities, such as the “implementation of strategic intelligence policy”, are low and derisory. None of the agencies mentioned above are mentioned in the budget. The sum of these various budget items gives us a total of 116,749,000 CFA francs, or less than 0.001% of the budget [2].

The percentage of secret items relating to national security and the intelligence services is not publicly disclosed (1) (2).

The budget is a one-line item and there is no breakdown. Officially, it is not known how much goes to confidential budgets [1]. In March, the CS Defence declined to reveal to Parliament how KES 135 billion was spent. The Defence committee had raised queries concerning the 2022/23 Annual Performance Report submitted by his Ministry. In defence, the CS noted that ‘revealing such details in public, was a risk to the national security. He added that he could only share such information to the National Security Council under the tutelage of the Commander-In-Chief’ [2].

The exact percentage of the Armed Forces of Liberia’s (AFL) budget which is embedded in the Nation Defence Budget is unknown to the general public.[1] The allocations are discretely represented due to concerns of national security considering the post-war context with certain procurement details (e.g., quantities and specifications of weapons) kept confidential. “We cannot reveal that we want to buy x amount of arms because when revealed publicly, it could cause some level of anxiety for a still traumatised post-war population”.[2]
However, some allocations related to security operations appear in the published budget, for instance under general or operational budget lines (e.g., security operations on page 180 of the 2024 budget), but these do not allow the public to determine the exact proportion of secret expenditure.[3] Off-budget allocations, such as USD 2.5 million for covert National Security Agency operations in 2025, have also been reported, suggesting that a portion of spending is classified or routed through unmarked categories.[3]
While national security concerns may limit the public’s access to the specific percentage of the AFL’s budget within the National Defence Budget, the overall defence budget and AFL’s aggregate allocations are publicly available [4].

The budget allocated to the national security and intelligence services is not known to the public. It is considered by military intelligence officias as “desirable.”[1]. However, this service has a “special fund” that its director can use to collect information. He is the only one who knows the amount and the use of this fund [1]. But since the reform of the intelligence services, the Central Intelligence Service (CIS) has become an organ attached to the Presidency of the Republic and as such, it benefits from the budget allocated to this institution. However, in terms of distribution between the institutions, the budget allocated to the Presidency – and if we add that allocated to the Prime Minister’s Office – ranks second. This assumes that the CIS would have a substantial financial buffer even if its amount is not known [2]. There are clues to confirm this. Indeed, the CIS is an espionage and counter-espionage body whose management has always been entrusted to career soldiers. However, this institution has benefited from the latest spying technologies and in particular from the Israeli Predator spyware. The use of such a tool must have been expensive [3]. The President of the Republic recognized the use of Predator without providing information on its financing. According to a consortium of European media, 14 million euros were allocated to the acquisition of this cyber-espionage system [4].

The budget of the National State Security Agency, which is the supreme intelligence service, is not included in the overall defence budget. In fact, the ANSE budget is a separate budget that is voted outside the overall budget of the Ministry of Defence. According to forecasts in the 2024 Finance Act, the Ministry of Defence budget was estimated at 472 billion CFA francs, and the budget for the National State Security Agency (ANSE) was estimated at 18 billion CFA francs for 2024.[1][2][3] Furthermore, the details of this overall budget are not communicated to the public.

The percentage is not available to the public, or the information that is published is considered unreliable, because ussually this type of information are classified as “Secret/State Secret” by the State Secret Law [1] and the Classified Information Classifier [2] in force in Mozambique.

The precise percentage of defense and security expenditure allocated to secret items related to national security and intelligence services is not publicly available [1]. While the Nigerien defense budget is published annually as part of the financial law and made accessible through the Official Journal, it is presented in an aggregated format with only generalized budgetary explanations. There is no detailed breakdown of expenditures specific to defense and security, nor is there public justification for the omission of significant areas within the defense budget.
Furthermore, in February 2024, the Transitional Authorities issued a presidential decree that abrogated the previous law governing the control of defense expenditures. This decree removed all military expenses, including procurement, services, and infrastructure projects for the army and the presidency, from public procurement and financial oversight regulations. Additionally, these expenditures are now exempt from taxes until the end of the transition period [2][3]. Given the lack of detailed budgetary disclosure and the removal of any form of financial scrutiny over defense expenditures, it is impossible to estimate the proportion of spending on secret items.

It is almost impossible to ascertain the exact percentage of defence and security expenditure in the annual budget that is dedicated to spending on secret items relating to national security and the intelligence services [1]. For instance, 6.93% of the proposed 2024 budget was allocated to 11 security agencies within the Defence and Interior ministries [2]. The budget of several intelligence agencies like the Department of Security Services (DSS), National Intelligence Agency NIA), and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) often fluctuates in response to the dynamics of national security confronting the country and the extent to which the executive prioritises them [3]. Given this, their operations are including resources are usually not made public save budgetary allocations that are often capture under personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditures for the institutions [4,5].

The percentage of secret items is not revealed to the public. The overall budget of the Ministry of the Armed Forces is publicly known but not the specific expenditures, especially when these expenditures relate to secret items. [1] Budget documents disclose only aggregate defence spending, with no detailed classification or breakdowns [2] .

More than 8% of the defence budget is secret as the entire allocation to the State Security Agency is secret, which forms more than 8% in combination with the Department of Defence’s allocation. [1][2]

The percentage of defence spending dedicated to secret items in not publicly available [1]. In addition, one cannot rely on the budget estimates presented for the defence ministry since they are not only too general to understand the details but also, they are not often consistent with the actual procurement [2]. For example, in 2018/2019 financial year, the defence ministry first awarded $81 million contract to Ater’s Lou Trading and Investment Co, but the finance ministry refused to approve it. According to correspondence obtained by OCCRP, the ministry cited the lack of a formal contract and the fact that the requested amount was “much higher” than the approved budget [3].

In the FY 2024/25, the governance and security sector was allocated Shs 9.1 trillion, representing 24.2% of the national budget, to strengthen law enforcement and national security. In comparison, the sector received Shs 6.825 trillion (14.2% of the budget) in FY 2023/24 and Shs 7.1673 trillion (15.2% of the budget) in FY 2022/23 [1,2,3,4].
For FY 2023/24, the Ministry of Defence in Uganda was allocated Shs 4.077 trillion, with Shs 187.811 billion designated for classified expenditure—approximately 4.6% of the total budget. However, there is no publicly available information on what percentage of the overall defence and security budget is allocated to, specifically, secret items.

The budget percentage for secret items related to national security and intelligence activities are not made public or presented in the national budget [1] because intelligence operations are secretive and are not known by the public, both internal and external deployment [2]. The defence expenditure is highly sensitive as a matter of national security. This makes it hard for the public to access such information.