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Military Strength: Flag of Laos Laos vs Flag of Thailand Thailand

Thailand (ranked #31 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Laos (#101) on the ATLAS Index. Thailand fields 360,850 active troops — 12:1 Laos's 29,100, backed by 200,000 reserves and 138,700 paramilitary. Thailand's $5.8B defense budget is 255:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Laos LaosWorld #101 14.7
ATLAS Index / 100

Thailand leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Thailand ThailandWorld #31 37.0
  • 35.029K active troops Manpower10 % 63.3360K active troops
  • 32.0160 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 43.6394 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 38.5277 warships
  • 14.24 combat aircraft Air power25 % 34.784 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 7.0$23M budget Defense budget15 % 34.3$5.8B budget
Laos Thailand 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
Laos Thailand Ratio
Defense budget $23M $5.8B 🇹🇭 255×
– share of GDP 0.2% 1.1% 🇹🇭 5.8×
Active personnel 29,100 360,850 🇹🇭 12×
Combat aircraft 4 84 🇹🇭 21×
Warships 0 277 🇹🇭
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 160 394 🇹🇭 2.5×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 200,000 🇹🇭
Paramilitary forces 100,000 138,700 🇹🇭 1.4×
Military aircraft (all types) 32 518 🇹🇭 16×
– helicopters 23 252 🇹🇭 11×
Aircraft carriers 0 1 🇹🇭
Budget share of govt spending 0.8% — 🇱🇦
Budget per capita $4 $81 🇹🇭 23×
Population 7.9M 71.6M 🇹🇭 9.1×
GDP $18B $577B 🇹🇭 32×
GDP per capita $2,325 $8,057 🇹🇭 3.5×
Land area 230,800 km² 510,890 km² 🇹🇭 2.2×
Coastline 0 km 3,219 km 🇹🇭
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇱🇦 LaosJL-8 ×4
🇹🇭 ThailandF-16 Fighting Falcon ×46M60A3 TTS Patton ×178Chakri Narubet-class ×1
Defense budget history
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Laos or Thailand?
Thailand has approximately 360,850 active military personnel compared to Laos's 29,100, giving Thailand a 12:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Laos or Thailand?
Thailand operates 84 combat aircraft compared to Laos's 4. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Laos or Thailand?
Thailand has a larger navy with 277 warships compared to Laos's 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Laos or Thailand?
Thailand has a larger defense budget at $5.8 billion (255:1 more) compared to Laos's $23 million annually.
Do Laos and Thailand have nuclear weapons?
Neither Laos nor Thailand currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Laos and Thailand compare?
Thailand operates 394 main battle tanks compared to Laos's 160. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.