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Military Strength: Flag of Cape Verde Cape Verde vs Flag of Portugal Portugal

Portugal (ranked #55 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Cape Verde (#168) on the ATLAS Index. Portugal fields 52,000 active troops — 52:1 Cape Verde's 1,000, backed by 23,500 reserves and 24,700 paramilitary. Portugal's $6.3B defense budget is 382:1 that of Cape Verde ($0.02B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Cape Verde Cape VerdeWorld #168 2.3
ATLAS Index / 100

Portugal leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Portugal PortugalWorld #55 27.5
  • 13.21,000 active troops Manpower10 % 36.152K active troops
  • 0.00 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 26.034 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 34.834 warships
  • 0.00 combat aircraft Air power25 % 26.833 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 6.5$16M budget Defense budget15 % 31.4$6.3B budget
Cape Verde Portugal 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
Cape Verde Portugal Ratio
Defense budget $16M $6.3B 🇵🇹 382×
– share of GDP 0.6% 2.0% 🇵🇹 3.3×
Active personnel 1,000 52,000 🇵🇹 52×
Combat aircraft 0 33 🇵🇹
Warships 0 34 🇵🇹
– submarines 0 2 🇵🇹
Main battle tanks 0 34 🇵🇹
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 23,500 🇵🇹
Paramilitary forces 0 24,700 🇵🇹
Military aircraft (all types) 0 100 🇵🇹
– helicopters 0 28 🇵🇹
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $31 $586 🇵🇹 19×
Population 524K 10.7M 🇵🇹 20×
GDP $2.7B $313B 🇵🇹 115×
GDP per capita $5,192 $29,292 🇵🇹 5.6×
Land area 4,033 km² 91,119 km² 🇵🇹 23×
Coastline 965 km 1,793 km 🇵🇹 1.9×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇵🇹 PortugalF-16 Fighting Falcon ×28Leopard 2 ×34Type 214-class ×2
Defense budget history Cape Verde ×1.6 · Portugal ×1.3 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Cape Verde or Portugal?
Portugal has approximately 52,000 active military personnel compared to Cape Verde's 1,000, giving Portugal a 52:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Cape Verde or Portugal?
Portugal operates 33 combat aircraft compared to Cape Verde's 0. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Cape Verde or Portugal?
Portugal has a larger navy with 34 vessels compared to Cape Verde's 0 ships. Cape Verde operates 0 submarines while Portugal has 2.
Which country spends more on defense, Cape Verde or Portugal?
Portugal has a larger defense budget at $6.3 billion (382:1 more) compared to Cape Verde's $16 million annually.
Do Cape Verde and Portugal have nuclear weapons?
Neither Cape Verde nor Portugal currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Cape Verde and Portugal compare?
Portugal operates 34 main battle tanks compared to Cape Verde's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.