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Military Strength: Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan vs Flag of Laos Laos

Afghanistan (ranked #99 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Laos (#101) on the ATLAS Index. Afghanistan fields 170,000 active troops — 5.8:1 Laos's 29,100. Afghanistan's $0.3B defense budget is 12:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Afghanistan AfghanistanWorld #99 14.7
ATLAS Index / 100

Afghanistan leads on 3 of 6 pillars

Flag of Laos LaosWorld #101 14.7
  • 45.6170K active troops Manpower10 % 35.029K active troops
  • 21.030 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 32.0160 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 15.21 combat aircraft Air power25 % 14.24 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 13.2$278M budget Defense budget15 % 7.0$23M budget
Afghanistan Laos Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · each conventional pillar read after its branch's availability proxy · Methodology
Key figures
Afghanistan Laos Ratio
Defense budget $278M $23M 🇦🇫 12×
– share of GDP 1.8% 0.2% 🇦🇫 9.6×
Active personnel 170,000 29,100 🇦🇫 5.8×
Combat aircraft 1 4 🇱🇦 4.0×
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 30 160 🇱🇦 5.3×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 0 —
Paramilitary forces 0 100,000 🇱🇦
Military aircraft (all types) 34 32 🇦🇫 1.1×
– helicopters 23 23 —
Budget share of govt spending 10.3% 0.8% 🇦🇫 13×
Budget per capita $7 $4 🇦🇫 2.0×
Population 43.8M 7.9M 🇦🇫 5.6×
GDP $18B $18B 🇱🇦 ≈
GDP per capita $405 $2,325 🇱🇦 5.7×
Land area 652,867 km² 230,800 km² 🇦🇫 2.8×
Coastline 0 km 0 km —
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇦🇫 AfghanistanEMB-314 Super Tucano ×1
🇱🇦 LaosJL-8 ×4
Defense budget history Afghanistan ×1.7 · Laos ×2.0 since 2004
Military personnel history
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Air forces
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Afghanistan vsPakistanSyriaKyrgyzstanMongoliaTajikistan
Laos vsSyriaKyrgyzstanMongoliaTajikistanGeorgia
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Afghanistan or Laos?
Afghanistan has approximately 170,000 active military personnel compared to Laos's 29,100, giving Afghanistan a 5.8:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Afghanistan or Laos?
Laos operates 4 combat aircraft compared to Afghanistan's 1. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Afghanistan or Laos?
Afghanistan has a larger defense budget at $278 million (12:1 more) compared to Laos's $23 million annually.
Do Afghanistan and Laos have nuclear weapons?
Neither Afghanistan nor Laos currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Afghanistan and Laos compare?
Laos operates 160 main battle tanks compared to Afghanistan's 30. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.