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Military Strength: Flag of Italy Italy vs Flag of Romania Romania

Italy (ranked #16 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Romania (#37) on the ATLAS Index. Italy fields 165,500 active troops — 2.4:1 Romania's 69,300, backed by 14,500 reserves and 175,750 paramilitary. Italy's $48B defense budget is 5.4:1 that of Romania ($8.8B).

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 Romania RomaniaWorld #37 33.6
  • 54.2165K active troops Manpower10 % 44.769K active troops
  • 45.3113 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 42.8328 battle tanks
  • 52.954 warships Naval power20 % 34.939 warships
  • 48.9197 combat aircraft Air power25 % 30.164 combat aircraft
  • 4.335 hosted warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 53.0$48B budget Defense budget15 % 37.6$8.8B budget
Italy Romania 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 Romania Ratio
Defense budget $48B $8.8B 🇮🇹 5.4×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.3% 🇷🇴 1.1×
Active personnel 165,500 69,300 🇮🇹 2.4×
Combat aircraft 197 64 🇮🇹 3.1×
Warships 54 39 🇮🇹 1.4×
– submarines 8 0 🇮🇹
Main battle tanks 113 328 🇷🇴 2.9×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 13 more rowsHide the 13 extra rows
Reserve troops 14,500 55,000 🇷🇴 3.8×
Paramilitary forces 175,750 57,000 🇮🇹 3.1×
Military aircraft (all types) 801 202 🇮🇹 4.0×
– helicopters 388 67 🇮🇹 5.8×
Aircraft carriers 1 0 🇮🇹
Deployed warheads 35 0 🇮🇹
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $808 $463 🇮🇹 1.7×
Population 58.9M 19M 🇮🇹 3.1×
GDP $2.6T $429B 🇮🇹 6.0×
GDP per capita $43,309 $22,538 🇮🇹 1.9×
Land area 294,140 km² 231,291 km² 🇮🇹 1.3×
Coastline 7,600 km 225 km 🇮🇹 34×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇮🇹 ItalyTyphoon ×93Ariete 1 ×110Cavour-class ×1
🇷🇴 RomaniaF-16 Fighting Falcon ×64T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×319Broadsword-class ×2
Defense budget history Italy ×1.5 · Romania ×1.6 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Italy or Romania?
Italy has approximately 165,500 active military personnel compared to Romania's 69,300, giving Italy a 2.4:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Italy or Romania?
Italy operates 197 combat aircraft compared to Romania's 64. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Italy or Romania?
Italy has a larger navy with 54 warships compared to Romania's 39. Italy operates 8 submarines while Romania has 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Italy or Romania?
Italy has a larger defense budget at $47.6 billion (5.4:1 more) compared to Romania's $8.8 billion annually.
Do Italy and Romania have nuclear weapons?
Neither Italy nor Romania currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Italy and Romania compare?
Romania operates 328 main battle tanks compared to Italy's 113. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.