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Military Strength: Flag of Spain Spain vs Flag of Greece Greece

Spain (ranked #17 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Greece (#20) on the ARMS Index. Spain fields 199,000 active troops vs 147,000 for Greece, backed by 15,150 reserves and 87,450 paramilitary. Spain's $35B defense budget is 4.6:1 that of Greece ($7.4B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Spain SpainWorld #17 52.8
ARMS Index / 100

Spain leads overall, ahead on 1 of 6 pillars

Flag of Greece GreeceWorld #20 50.2
  • 69.9199K active troops Manpower15 % 75.9147K active troops
  • 62.7317 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 68.41,344 battle tanks
  • 47.687 warships Naval power20 % 54.7143 warships
  • 58.9178 combat aircraft Air power25 % 59.2217 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 64.6$35B budget Defense budget10 % 53.1$7.4B budget
Spain Greece Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.14 vs ×1.02 · Methodology
Key figures
Spain Greece Ratio
Defense budget $35B $7.4B 🇪🇸 4.6×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.9% 🇬🇷 1.4×
Active personnel 199,000 147,000 🇪🇸 1.4×
Combat aircraft 178 217 🇬🇷 1.2×
Warships 87 143 🇬🇷 1.6×
– submarines 2 8 🇬🇷 4.0×
Main battle tanks 317 1,344 🇬🇷 4.2×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 15,150 289,000 🇬🇷 19×
Paramilitary forces 87,450 7,400 🇪🇸 12×
Military aircraft (all types) 471 648 🇬🇷 1.4×
– helicopters 178 300 🇬🇷 1.7×
Aircraft carriers 1 1 —
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $707 $714 🇬🇷 ≈
Population 48.8M 10.4M 🇪🇸 4.7×
GDP $1.7T $256B 🇪🇸 6.7×
GDP per capita $35,327 $24,626 🇪🇸 1.4×
Land area 498,980 km² 130,647 km² 🇪🇸 3.8×
Coastline 4,964 km 13,676 km 🇬🇷 2.8×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇪🇸 SpainF/A-18 Hornet ×81Leopard 2 ×274Juan Carlos I-class ×1
🇬🇷 GreeceF-16 Fighting Falcon ×152Leopard 1 ×501Type 209-class ×4
Defense budget history Spain ×2.4 · Greece ×0.9 since 2021
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Spain or Greece?
Spain has approximately 199,000 active military personnel compared to Greece's 147,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Spain or Greece?
Greece operates 217 combat aircraft compared to Spain's 178. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Spain or Greece?
Greece has a larger navy with 143 vessels compared to Spain's 87 ships. Spain operates 2 submarines while Greece has 8.
Which country spends more on defense, Spain or Greece?
Spain has a larger defense budget at $34.5 billion (4.6:1 more) compared to Greece's $7.4 billion annually.
Do Spain and Greece have nuclear weapons?
Neither Spain nor Greece currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Spain and Greece compare?
Greece operates 1,344 main battle tanks compared to Spain's 317. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.