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Military Strength: Flag of Laos Laos vs Flag of Yemen Yemen

Yemen (ranked #90 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Laos (#108) on the ARMS Index. Laos fields 129,000 active troops — 6.5:1 Yemen's 20,000, backed by 100,000 paramilitary. Yemen's $1.7B defense budget is 76:1 that of Laos ($0.02B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Laos LaosWorld #108 18.8
ARMS Index / 100

Yemen leads on 3 of 6 pillars

Flag of Yemen YemenWorld #90 23.5
  • 61.2129K active troops Manpower15 % 57.720K active troops
  • 50.4160 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 17.729 warships
  • 25.74 combat aircraft Air power25 % 42.875 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 9.6$23M budget Defense budget10 % 37.6$1.7B budget
Laos Yemen Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×0.80 vs ×1.01 · Methodology
Key figures
Laos Yemen Ratio
Defense budget $23M $1.7B 🇾🇪 76×
– share of GDP 0.2% 4.0% 🇾🇪 21×
Active personnel 129,000 20,000 🇱🇦 6.5×
Combat aircraft 4 75 🇾🇪 19×
Warships 0 29 🇾🇪
– 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 0 🇱🇦
Military aircraft (all types) 32 156 🇾🇪 4.9×
– helicopters 23 40 🇾🇪 1.7×
Budget share of govt spending 0.8% 14.3% 🇾🇪 18×
Budget per capita $4 $58 🇾🇪 16×
Population 7.8M 40.6M 🇾🇪 5.2×
GDP $17B $22B 🇾🇪 1.3×
GDP per capita $2,124 $532 🇱🇦 4.0×
Land area 230,800 km² 527,968 km² 🇾🇪 2.3×
Coastline 0 km 1,906 km 🇾🇪
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇱🇦 LaosJL-8 ×4
🇾🇪 YemenMiG-29 Fulcrum ×23
Defense budget history Laos ×0.2 · Yemen ×1.3 since 1992
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Laos or Yemen?
Laos has approximately 129,000 active military personnel compared to Yemen's 20,000, giving Laos a 6.5:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Laos or Yemen?
Yemen operates 75 combat aircraft compared to Laos's 4. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Laos or Yemen?
Yemen has a larger navy with 29 vessels compared to Laos's 0 ships.
Which country spends more on defense, Laos or Yemen?
Yemen has a larger defense budget at $1.7 billion (76:1 more) compared to Laos's $23 million annually.
Do Laos and Yemen have nuclear weapons?
Neither Laos nor Yemen currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Laos and Yemen compare?
Laos operates 160 main battle tanks compared to Yemen's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.