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Military Strength: Flag of Ireland Ireland vs Flag of New Zealand New Zealand

New Zealand (ranked #90 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Ireland (#97) on the ATLAS Index. Ireland fields 9,000 active troops vs 10,000 for New Zealand, backed by 3,270 reserves. New Zealand's $3.1B defense budget is 2.6:1 that of Ireland ($1.2B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Ireland IrelandWorld #97 14.8
ATLAS Index / 100

New Zealand leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of New Zealand New ZealandWorld #90 16.5
  • 24.89,000 active troops Manpower10 % 24.910K active troops
  • 0.00 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 24.132 warships Naval power20 % 26.25 warships
  • 17.70 combat aircraft Air power25 % 19.30 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 19.4$1.2B budget Defense budget15 % 24.9$3.1B budget
Ireland New Zealand 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
Ireland New Zealand Ratio
Defense budget $1.2B $3.1B 🇳🇿 2.6×
– share of GDP 0.2% 1.2% 🇳🇿 6.0×
Active personnel 9,000 10,000 🇳🇿 1.1×
Combat aircraft 0 0 —
Warships 32 5 🇮🇪 6.4×
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 0 0 —
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 4,050 3,270 🇮🇪 1.2×
Paramilitary forces 0 0 —
Military aircraft (all types) 27 47 🇳🇿 1.7×
– helicopters 10 21 🇳🇿 2.1×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $226 $590 🇳🇿 2.6×
Population 5.4M 5.3M 🇮🇪 ≈
GDP $609B $260B 🇮🇪 2.3×
GDP per capita $112,895 $49,205 🇮🇪 2.3×
Land area 68,883 km² 262,443 km² 🇳🇿 3.8×
Coastline 1,448 km 15,134 km 🇳🇿 10×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇳🇿 New ZealandAnzac-class ×2
Defense budget history Ireland ×0.9 · New Zealand ×1.0 since 2020
Military personnel history
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Ireland vsLithuaniaSloveniaSlovakiaEstoniaAustria
New Zealand vsAustraliaPapua New GuineaFijiUgandaTanzania
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Ireland or New Zealand?
New Zealand has approximately 10,000 active military personnel compared to Ireland's 9,000.
Who has the larger navy, Ireland or New Zealand?
Ireland has a larger navy with 32 vessels compared to New Zealand's 5 ships.
Which country spends more on defense, Ireland or New Zealand?
New Zealand has a larger defense budget at $3.1 billion (2.6:1 more) compared to Ireland's $1.2 billion annually.
Do Ireland and New Zealand have nuclear weapons?
Neither Ireland nor New Zealand currently possesses nuclear weapons.