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Military Strength: Flag of Mexico Mexico vs Flag of Venezuela Venezuela

Mexico (ranked #38 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Venezuela (#60) on the ATLAS Index. Mexico fields 341,000 active troops vs 343,000 for Venezuela, backed by 8,000 reserves and 220,000 paramilitary. Mexico's $17B defense budget is 23:1 that of Venezuela ($0.7B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Mexico MexicoWorld #38 33.2
ATLAS Index / 100

Mexico leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Venezuela VenezuelaWorld #60 25.9
  • 57.8341K active troops Manpower10 % 47.1343K active troops
  • 34.40 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 31.2172 battle tanks
  • 28.8204 warships Naval power20 % 26.145 warships
  • 30.04 combat aircraft Air power25 % 27.954 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 46.1$17B budget Defense budget15 % 16.7$719M budget
Mexico Venezuela 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
Mexico Venezuela Ratio
Defense budget $17B $719M 🇲🇽 23×
– share of GDP 0.9% 0.6% 🇲🇽 1.5×
Active personnel 341,000 343,000 🇻🇪 ≈
Combat aircraft 4 54 🇻🇪 14×
Warships 204 45 🇲🇽 4.5×
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 0 172 🇻🇪
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 81,500 8,000 🇲🇽 10×
Paramilitary forces 120,000 220,000 🇻🇪 1.8×
Military aircraft (all types) 431 226 🇲🇽 1.9×
– helicopters 168 74 🇲🇽 2.3×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $128 $25 🇲🇽 5.0×
Population 130.9M 28.4M 🇲🇽 4.6×
GDP $1.9T $120B 🇲🇽 15×
GDP per capita $14,186 $4,218 🇲🇽 3.4×
Land area 1,943,945 km² 882,050 km² 🇲🇽 2.2×
Coastline 9,330 km 2,800 km 🇲🇽 3.3×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇲🇽 MexicoF-5E Tiger II ×3Sigma-class ×1
🇻🇪 VenezuelaJL-8 ×23T-72 ×92
Defense budget history Mexico ×1.6 · Venezuela ×1.3 since 2022
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Mexico or Venezuela?
Venezuela has approximately 343,000 active military personnel compared to Mexico's 341,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Mexico or Venezuela?
Venezuela operates 54 combat aircraft compared to Mexico's 4. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Mexico or Venezuela?
Mexico has a larger navy with 204 vessels compared to Venezuela's 45 ships.
Which country spends more on defense, Mexico or Venezuela?
Mexico has a larger defense budget at $16.7 billion (23:1 more) compared to Venezuela's $719 million annually.
Do Mexico and Venezuela have nuclear weapons?
Neither Mexico nor Venezuela currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Mexico and Venezuela compare?
Venezuela operates 172 main battle tanks compared to Mexico's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.