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Military Strength: Flag of Laos Laos vs Flag of Vietnam Vietnam

Vietnam (ranked #20 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Laos (#100) on the ATLAS Index. Vietnam fields 522,000 active troops — 4.0:1 Laos's 129,000, backed by 5,000,000 reserves and 40,000 paramilitary. Vietnam's $8.6B defense budget is 378:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Laos LaosWorld #100 14.8
ATLAS Index / 100

Vietnam leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Vietnam VietnamWorld #20 42.4
  • 35.0129K active troops Manpower10 % 99.4522K active troops
  • 32.2160 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 48.51,374 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 42.7112 warships
  • 14.34 combat aircraft Air power25 % 30.871 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 7.0$23M budget Defense budget15 % 39.8$8.6B budget
Laos Vietnam 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 Vietnam Ratio
Defense budget $23M $8.6B 🇻🇳 378×
– share of GDP 0.2% 1.8% 🇻🇳 9.5×
Active personnel 129,000 522,000 🇻🇳 4.0×
Combat aircraft 4 71 🇻🇳 18×
Warships 0 112 🇻🇳
– submarines 0 6 🇻🇳
Main battle tanks 160 1,374 🇻🇳 8.6×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 5,000,000 🇻🇳
Paramilitary forces 100,000 40,000 🇱🇦 2.5×
Military aircraft (all types) 32 205 🇻🇳 6.4×
– helicopters 23 42 🇻🇳 1.8×
Budget share of govt spending 0.8% — 🇱🇦
Budget per capita $4 $85 🇻🇳 24×
Population 7.8M 101M 🇻🇳 13×
GDP $17B $476B 🇻🇳 29×
GDP per capita $2,124 $4,717 🇻🇳 2.2×
Land area 230,800 km² 310,070 km² 🇻🇳 1.3×
Coastline 0 km 3,444 km 🇻🇳
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇱🇦 LaosJL-8 ×4
🇻🇳 VietnamSu-27 Flanker ×46T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×1,200Kilo-class ×6
Defense budget history Laos ×0.2 · Vietnam ×11.2 since 1992
Military personnel history
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Vietnam vsChinaNorth KoreaIndonesiaTaiwanIran
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Laos or Vietnam?
Vietnam has approximately 522,000 active military personnel compared to Laos's 129,000, giving Vietnam a 4.0:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Laos or Vietnam?
Vietnam operates 71 combat aircraft compared to Laos's 4. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Laos or Vietnam?
Vietnam has a larger navy with 112 vessels compared to Laos's 0 ships. Laos operates 0 submarines while Vietnam has 6.
Which country spends more on defense, Laos or Vietnam?
Vietnam has a larger defense budget at $8.6 billion (378:1 more) compared to Laos's $23 million annually.
Do Laos and Vietnam have nuclear weapons?
Neither Laos nor Vietnam currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Laos and Vietnam compare?
Vietnam operates 1,374 main battle tanks compared to Laos's 160. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.