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Military Strength: Flag of Belgium Belgium vs Flag of Serbia Serbia

Belgium (ranked #51 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Serbia (#63) on the ARMS Index. Belgium fields 24,000 active troops vs 32,000 for Serbia, backed by 50,150 reserves and 3,000 paramilitary. Belgium's $13B defense budget is 6.0:1 that of Serbia ($2.3B).

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Flag of Belgium BelgiumWorld #51 37.9
ARMS Index / 100

Belgium leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Serbia SerbiaWorld #63 33.5
  • 55.024K active troops Manpower15 % 60.432K active troops
  • 43.00 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 54.4262 battle tanks
  • 20.19 warships Naval power20 % 14.430 warships
  • 43.764 combat aircraft Air power25 % 38.932 combat aircraft
  • 2.415 hosted warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 55.5$13B budget Defense budget10 % 39.8$2.3B budget
Belgium Serbia Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.18 vs ×1.05 · Methodology
Key figures
Belgium Serbia Ratio
Defense budget $13B $2.3B 🇧🇪 6.0×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.5% 🇷🇸 1.2×
Active personnel 24,000 32,000 🇷🇸 1.3×
Combat aircraft 64 32 🇧🇪 2.0×
Warships 9 30 🇷🇸 3.3×
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 0 262 🇷🇸
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 5,900 50,150 🇷🇸 8.5×
Paramilitary forces 0 3,000 🇷🇸
Military aircraft (all types) 104 132 🇷🇸 1.3×
– helicopters 14 61 🇷🇸 4.4×
Deployed warheads 15 0 🇧🇪
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $1,132 $342 🇧🇪 3.3×
Population 11.9M 6.6M 🇧🇪 1.8×
GDP $671B $90B 🇧🇪 7.5×
GDP per capita $56,615 $13,679 🇧🇪 4.1×
Land area 30,278 km² 88,246 km² 🇷🇸 2.9×
Coastline 66 km 0 km 🇧🇪
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇧🇪 BelgiumF-16 Fighting Falcon ×52Karel Doorman-class ×2
🇷🇸 SerbiaIAR-93 / J-22 Orao ×17M-84 ×212
Defense budget history Belgium ×1.3 · Serbia ×1.5 since 2021
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Belgium or Serbia?
Serbia has approximately 32,000 active military personnel compared to Belgium's 24,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Belgium or Serbia?
Belgium operates 64 combat aircraft compared to Serbia's 32. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Belgium or Serbia?
Serbia has a larger navy with 30 vessels compared to Belgium's 9 ships.
Which country spends more on defense, Belgium or Serbia?
Belgium has a larger defense budget at $13.4 billion (6.0:1 more) compared to Serbia's $2.3 billion annually.
Do Belgium and Serbia have nuclear weapons?
Neither Belgium nor Serbia currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Belgium and Serbia compare?
Serbia operates 262 main battle tanks compared to Belgium's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.