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Military Strength: Flag of Brunei Brunei vs Flag of Laos Laos

Laos (ranked #101 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Brunei (#140) on the ATLAS Index. Laos fields 29,100 active troops — 4.0:1 Brunei's 7,200, backed by 100,000 paramilitary. Brunei's $0.6B defense budget is 25:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Brunei BruneiWorld #140 8.3
ATLAS Index / 100

Laos leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

Flag of Laos LaosWorld #101 14.7
  • 22.07,200 active troops Manpower10 % 35.029K active troops
  • 0.00 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 32.0160 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 14.60 combat aircraft Air power25 % 14.24 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 15.7$560M budget Defense budget15 % 7.0$23M budget
Brunei 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
Brunei Laos Ratio
Defense budget $560M $23M 🇧🇳 25×
– share of GDP 3.7% 0.2% 🇧🇳 19×
Active personnel 7,200 29,100 🇱🇦 4.0×
Combat aircraft 0 4 🇱🇦
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 0 160 🇱🇦
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 700 0 🇧🇳
Paramilitary forces 500 100,000 🇱🇦 200×
Military aircraft (all types) 33 32 🇧🇳 ≈
– helicopters 19 23 🇱🇦 1.2×
Budget share of govt spending 12.2% 0.8% 🇧🇳 16×
Budget per capita $1,216 $4 🇧🇳 347×
Population 466K 7.9M 🇱🇦 17×
GDP $15B $18B 🇱🇦 1.2×
GDP per capita $32,235 $2,325 🇧🇳 14×
Land area 5,265 km² 230,800 km² 🇱🇦 44×
Coastline 161 km 0 km 🇧🇳
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇱🇦 LaosJL-8 ×4
Defense budget history Brunei ×1.6 · Laos ×0.2 since 1992
Military personnel history
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Air forces
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Brunei vsNepalTimor-LesteTajikistanKyrgyzstanAfghanistan
Laos vsAfghanistanKyrgyzstanSyriaTajikistanMongolia
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Brunei or Laos?
Laos has approximately 29,100 active military personnel compared to Brunei's 7,200, giving Laos a 4.0:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Brunei or Laos?
Laos operates 4 combat aircraft compared to Brunei's 0. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Brunei or Laos?
Brunei has a larger defense budget at $560 million (25:1 more) compared to Laos's $23 million annually.
Do Brunei and Laos have nuclear weapons?
Neither Brunei nor Laos currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Brunei and Laos compare?
Laos operates 160 main battle tanks compared to Brunei's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.