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Military Strength: Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia vs Flag of Somalia Somalia

Ethiopia (ranked #68 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Somalia (#157) on the ATLAS Index. Ethiopia fields 138,000 active troops — 9.9:1 Somalia's 14,000. Ethiopia's $1B defense budget is 5.3:1 that of Somalia ($0.2B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Ethiopia EthiopiaWorld #68 23.7
ATLAS Index / 100

Ethiopia leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Somalia SomaliaWorld #157 4.5
  • 60.5138K active troops Manpower10 % 26.614K active troops
  • 39.0338 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 24.034 combat aircraft Air power25 % 0.00 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 23.8$1B budget Defense budget15 % 12.1$199M budget
Ethiopia Somalia 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
Ethiopia Somalia Ratio
Defense budget $1B $199M 🇪🇹 5.3×
– share of GDP 0.7% 1.5% 🇸🇴 2.2×
Active personnel 138,000 14,000 🇪🇹 9.9×
Combat aircraft 34 0 🇪🇹
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 338 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) 99 0 🇪🇹
– helicopters 31 0 🇪🇹
Budget share of govt spending — 20.8% 🇸🇴
Budget per capita $8 $10 🇸🇴 1.3×
Population 132.1M 19M 🇪🇹 6.9×
GDP $150B $12B 🇪🇹 13×
GDP per capita $1,134 $630 🇪🇹 1.8×
Land area 1,096,630 km² 627,337 km² 🇪🇹 1.7×
Coastline 0 km 3,333 km 🇸🇴
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇪🇹 EthiopiaSu-27 Flanker ×20T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×1,190
Defense budget history Ethiopia ×1.9 · Somalia ×2.1 since 2020
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Ethiopia or Somalia?
Ethiopia has approximately 138,000 active military personnel compared to Somalia's 14,000, giving Ethiopia a 9.9:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Ethiopia or Somalia?
Ethiopia operates 34 combat aircraft compared to Somalia's 0. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Ethiopia or Somalia?
Ethiopia has a larger defense budget at $1 billion (5.3:1 more) compared to Somalia's $199 million annually.
Do Ethiopia and Somalia have nuclear weapons?
Neither Ethiopia nor Somalia currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Ethiopia and Somalia compare?
Ethiopia operates 338 main battle tanks compared to Somalia's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.