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Military Strength: Flag of Italy Italy vs Flag of Portugal Portugal

Italy (ranked #16 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Portugal (#56) on the ATLAS Index. Italy fields 165,500 active troops — 6.1:1 Portugal's 27,250, backed by 14,500 reserves and 175,750 paramilitary. Italy's $48B defense budget is 7.6:1 that of Portugal ($6.3B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Italy ItalyWorld #16 46.2
ATLAS Index / 100

Italy leads on 6 of 6 pillars

Flag of Portugal PortugalWorld #56 27.8
  • 54.2165K active troops Manpower10 % 36.127K active troops
  • 45.3113 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 26.434 battle tanks
  • 52.954 warships Naval power20 % 34.726 warships
  • 48.9197 combat aircraft Air power25 % 27.933 combat aircraft
  • 4.335 hosted warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 53.0$48B budget Defense budget15 % 31.4$6.3B budget
Italy Portugal 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
Italy Portugal Ratio
Defense budget $48B $6.3B 🇮🇹 7.6×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.0% —
Active personnel 165,500 27,250 🇮🇹 6.1×
Combat aircraft 197 33 🇮🇹 6.0×
Warships 54 26 🇮🇹 2.1×
– submarines 8 2 🇮🇹 4.0×
Main battle tanks 113 34 🇮🇹 3.3×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 13 more rowsHide the 13 extra rows
Reserve troops 14,500 23,500 🇵🇹 1.6×
Paramilitary forces 175,750 24,700 🇮🇹 7.1×
Military aircraft (all types) 800 102 🇮🇹 7.8×
– helicopters 387 29 🇮🇹 13×
Aircraft carriers 1 0 🇮🇹
Deployed warheads 35 0 🇮🇹
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $808 $580 🇮🇹 1.4×
Population 58.9M 10.8M 🇮🇹 5.5×
GDP $2.6T $347B 🇮🇹 7.4×
GDP per capita $43,309 $32,082 🇮🇹 1.3×
Land area 294,140 km² 91,119 km² 🇮🇹 3.2×
Coastline 7,600 km 1,793 km 🇮🇹 4.2×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇮🇹 ItalyTyphoon ×93Ariete 1 ×110Cavour-class ×1
🇵🇹 PortugalF-16 Fighting Falcon ×28Leopard 2 ×34Type 214-class ×2
Defense budget history Italy ×1.5 · Portugal ×1.6 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Italy or Portugal?
Italy has approximately 165,500 active military personnel compared to Portugal's 27,250, giving Italy a 6.1:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Italy or Portugal?
Italy operates 197 combat aircraft compared to Portugal's 33. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Italy or Portugal?
Italy has a larger navy with 54 warships compared to Portugal's 26. Italy operates 8 submarines while Portugal has 2.
Which country spends more on defense, Italy or Portugal?
Italy has a larger defense budget at $47.6 billion (7.6:1 more) compared to Portugal's $6.3 billion annually.
Do Italy and Portugal have nuclear weapons?
Neither Italy nor Portugal currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Italy and Portugal compare?
Italy operates 113 main battle tanks compared to Portugal's 34. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.