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Military Strength: Flag of Iraq Iraq vs Flag of Turkey Turkey

Turkey (ranked #10 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Iraq (#36) on the ATLAS Index. Iraq fields 193,000 active troops vs 355,200 for Turkey, backed by 378,700 reserves and 156,800 paramilitary. Turkey's $31B defense budget is 4.5:1 that of Iraq ($7B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Iraq IraqWorld #36 33.8
ATLAS Index / 100

Turkey leads on 6 of 6 pillars

Flag of Turkey TurkeyWorld #10 51.0
  • 53.6193K active troops Manpower10 % 67.1355K active troops
  • 53.91,188 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 65.52,284 battle tanks
  • 19.859 warships Naval power20 % 50.6106 warships
  • 32.953 combat aircraft Air power25 % 49.1283 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 3.720 hosted warheads
  • 34.2$7B budget Defense budget15 % 52.3$31B budget
Iraq Turkey 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
Iraq Turkey Ratio
Defense budget $7B $31B 🇹🇷 4.5×
– share of GDP 2.5% 2.3% 🇮🇶 1.1×
Active personnel 193,000 355,200 🇹🇷 1.8×
Combat aircraft 53 283 🇹🇷 5.3×
Warships 59 106 🇹🇷 1.8×
– submarines 0 14 🇹🇷
Main battle tanks 1,188 2,284 🇹🇷 1.9×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 378,700 🇹🇷
Paramilitary forces 266,000 156,800 🇮🇶 1.7×
Military aircraft (all types) 393 1,321 🇹🇷 3.4×
– helicopters 205 436 🇹🇷 2.1×
Deployed warheads 0 20 🇹🇷
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $149 $364 🇹🇷 2.4×
Population 47M 85.9M 🇹🇷 1.8×
GDP $254B $1.6T 🇹🇷 6.3×
GDP per capita $5,410 $18,599 🇹🇷 3.4×
Land area 437,367 km² 769,632 km² 🇹🇷 1.8×
Coastline 58 km 7,200 km 🇹🇷 124×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇮🇶 IraqF-16 Fighting Falcon ×34M1 Abrams ×487
🇹🇷 TurkeyF-16 Fighting Falcon ×235M48A5 Patton ×750Type 209-class ×12
Defense budget history Iraq ×1.1 · Turkey ×2.2 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has approximately 355,200 active military personnel compared to Iraq's 193,000, giving Turkey a 1.8:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey operates 283 combat aircraft compared to Iraq's 53. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has a larger navy with 106 warships compared to Iraq's 59. Iraq operates 0 submarines while Turkey has 14.
Which country spends more on defense, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has a larger defense budget at $31.3 billion (4.5:1 more) compared to Iraq's $7 billion annually.
Do Iraq and Turkey have nuclear weapons?
Neither Iraq nor Turkey currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Iraq and Turkey compare?
Turkey operates 2,284 main battle tanks compared to Iraq's 1,188. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.