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Military Strength: Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka vs Flag of Syria Syria

Sri Lanka (ranked #69 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Syria (#97) on the ATLAS Index. Sri Lanka fields 265,900 active troops vs 169,000 for Syria, backed by 5,500 reserves and 94,050 paramilitary. Sri Lanka allocates $1.5B to defense compared to $2.5B for Syria.

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Sri Lanka Sri LankaWorld #69 23.0
ATLAS Index / 100

Sri Lanka leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Syria SyriaWorld #97 15.1
  • 53.0265K active troops Manpower10 % 47.3169K active troops
  • 26.187 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 20.4365 battle tanks
  • 20.4262 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 20.417 combat aircraft Air power25 % 10.92 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 20.0$1.5B budget Defense budget15 % 22.8$2.5B budget
Sri Lanka Syria 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
Sri Lanka Syria Ratio
Defense budget $1.5B $2.5B 🇸🇾 1.7×
– share of GDP 1.5% 4.1% 🇸🇾 2.7×
Active personnel 265,900 169,000 🇱🇰 1.6×
Combat aircraft 17 2 🇱🇰 8.5×
Warships 262 0 🇱🇰
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 87 365 🇸🇾 4.2×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 5,500 0 🇱🇰
Paramilitary forces 94,050 0 🇱🇰
Military aircraft (all types) 87 11 🇱🇰 7.9×
– helicopters 49 6 🇱🇰 8.2×
Budget share of govt spending — 13.6% 🇸🇾
Budget per capita $68 $110 🇸🇾 1.6×
Population 21.8M 25.6M 🇸🇾 1.2×
GDP $109B $24B 🇱🇰 4.6×
GDP per capita $5,002 $927 🇱🇰 5.4×
Land area 62,732 km² 183,630 km² 🇸🇾 2.9×
Coastline 1,340 km 193 km 🇱🇰 6.9×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇱🇰 Sri LankaJ-7 Fishcan ×6T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×62Type 053H2G-class ×1
🇸🇾 SyriaSu-17 Fitter ×2
Defense budget history
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Sri Lanka or Syria?
Sri Lanka has approximately 265,900 active military personnel compared to Syria's 169,000, giving Sri Lanka a 1.6:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Sri Lanka or Syria?
Sri Lanka operates 17 combat aircraft compared to Syria's 2. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Sri Lanka or Syria?
Sri Lanka has a larger navy with 262 warships compared to Syria's 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Sri Lanka or Syria?
Syria has a larger defense budget at $2.5 billion (1.7:1 more) compared to Sri Lanka's $1.5 billion annually.
Do Sri Lanka and Syria have nuclear weapons?
Neither Sri Lanka nor Syria currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Sri Lanka and Syria compare?
Syria operates 365 main battle tanks compared to Sri Lanka's 87. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.