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Military Strength: Flag of Eritrea Eritrea vs Flag of Yemen Yemen

Eritrea (ranked #84 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Yemen (#89) on the ATLAS Index. Eritrea fields 301,750 active troops — 7.5:1 Yemen's 40,000. Yemen's $1.7B defense budget is 9.4:1 that of Eritrea ($0.2B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Eritrea EritreaWorld #84 19.8
ATLAS Index / 100

Eritrea leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

Flag of Yemen YemenWorld #89 17.2
  • 52.7301K active troops Manpower10 % 33.440K active troops
  • 24.4270 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 19.818 warships Naval power20 % 23.216 warships
  • 14.62 combat aircraft Air power25 % 23.669 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 11.9$182M budget Defense budget15 % 20.8$1.7B budget
Eritrea Yemen 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
Eritrea Yemen Ratio
Defense budget $182M $1.7B 🇾🇪 9.4×
– share of GDP 20.9% 4.0% 🇪🇷 5.3×
Active personnel 301,750 40,000 🇪🇷 7.5×
Combat aircraft 2 69 🇾🇪 34×
Warships 18 16 🇪🇷 1.1×
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 270 0 🇪🇷
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 0 —
Paramilitary forces 0 0 —
Military aircraft (all types) 20 134 🇾🇪 6.7×
– helicopters 13 34 🇾🇪 2.6×
Budget share of govt spending 46.4% 14.3% 🇪🇷 3.2×
Budget per capita $75 $58 🇪🇷 1.3×
Population 3.6M 41.8M 🇾🇪 12×
GDP $2.1B $22B 🇾🇪 10×
GDP per capita $572 $517 🇪🇷 1.1×
Land area 125,000 km² 527,968 km² 🇾🇪 4.2×
Coastline 2,234 km 1,906 km 🇪🇷 1.2×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇪🇷 EritreaSu-27 Flanker ×2T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×270
🇾🇪 YemenMiG-29 Fulcrum ×23
Defense budget history Eritrea ×1.7 · Yemen ×0.5 since 1993
Military personnel history
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Eritrea vsEthiopiaKenyaLibyaSudanCongo Democratic Republic
Yemen vsSaudi ArabiaArmeniaGeorgiaLebanonMongolia
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Eritrea or Yemen?
Eritrea has approximately 301,750 active military personnel compared to Yemen's 40,000, giving Eritrea a 7.5:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Eritrea or Yemen?
Yemen operates 69 combat aircraft compared to Eritrea's 2. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Eritrea or Yemen?
Eritrea has a larger navy with 18 warships compared to Yemen's 16.
Which country spends more on defense, Eritrea or Yemen?
Yemen has a larger defense budget at $1.7 billion (9.4:1 more) compared to Eritrea's $182 million annually.
Do Eritrea and Yemen have nuclear weapons?
Neither Eritrea nor Yemen currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Eritrea and Yemen compare?
Eritrea operates 270 main battle tanks compared to Yemen's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.