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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 (#40) on the ATLAS Index. Italy fields 338,000 active troops — 2.6:1 Romania's 128,000, 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 45.7
ATLAS Index / 100

Italy leads on 6 of 6 pillars

Flag of Romania RomaniaWorld #40 32.9
  • 54.2338K active troops Manpower10 % 44.7128K active troops
  • 42.7200 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 41.9328 battle tanks
  • 53.1313 warships Naval power20 % 34.733 warships
  • 48.9190 combat aircraft Air power25 % 28.349 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 338,000 128,000 🇮🇹 2.6×
Combat aircraft 190 49 🇮🇹 3.9×
Warships 313 33 🇮🇹 9.5×
– submarines 8 0 🇮🇹
Main battle tanks 200 328 🇷🇴 1.6×
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) 778 166 🇮🇹 4.7×
– helicopters 387 64 🇮🇹 6.0×
Aircraft carriers 1 0 🇮🇹
Deployed warheads 35 0 🇮🇹
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $808 $462 🇮🇹 1.7×
Population 59M 19.1M 🇮🇹 3.1×
GDP $2.4T $383B 🇮🇹 6.2×
GDP per capita $40,385 $20,080 🇮🇹 2.0×
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 ×49T-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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Romania vsNetherlandsNorwayPolandFinlandSpain
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Italy or Romania?
Italy has approximately 338,000 active military personnel compared to Romania's 128,000, giving Italy a 2.6:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Italy or Romania?
Italy operates 190 combat aircraft compared to Romania's 49. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Italy or Romania?
Italy has a larger navy with 313 vessels compared to Romania's 33 ships. 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 200. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.