Military Strength: Laos vs Nepal

Laos (ranked #108 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Nepal (#133) on the ARMS Index. Laos fields 129,000 active troops vs 112,000 for Nepal, backed by 100,000 paramilitary. Nepal's $0.4B defense budget is 19:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →

LaosWorld #108 18.8

ARMS Index / 100

Laos leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

NepalWorld #133 13.5

61.2129K active troops Manpower15 % 66.0112K active troops
50.4160 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
25.74 combat aircraft Air power25 % 19.80 combat aircraft
0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
9.6$23M budget Defense budget10 % 27.0$429M budget

Laos Nepal Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×0.80 vs ×0.85 · Methodology

Key figures

	Laos	Nepal	Ratio
Defense budget	$23M	$429M	🇳🇵 19×
– share of GDP	0.2%	1.0%	🇳🇵 5.3×
Active personnel	129,000	112,000	🇱🇦 1.2×
Combat aircraft	4	0	🇱🇦
Warships	0	0	—
– submarines	0	0	—
Main battle tanks	160	0	🇱🇦
Nuclear warheads	0	0	—

Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows

Reserve troops	0	0	—
Paramilitary forces	100,000	15,000	🇱🇦 6.7×
Military aircraft (all types)	32	22	🇱🇦 1.5×
– helicopters	23	15	🇱🇦 1.5×
Budget share of govt spending	0.8%	—	🇱🇦
Budget per capita	$4	$14	🇳🇵 4.1×
Population	7.8M	29.7M	🇳🇵 3.8×
GDP	$17B	$43B	🇳🇵 2.6×
GDP per capita	$2,124	$1,447	🇱🇦 1.5×
Land area	230,800 km²	143,686 km²	🇱🇦 1.6×
Coastline	0 km	0 km	—