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Military Strength: Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua vs Flag of Paraguay Paraguay

Nicaragua (ranked #112 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Paraguay (#123) on the ATLAS Index. Nicaragua fields 12,000 active troops vs 13,950 for Paraguay, backed by 164,500 reserves and 14,800 paramilitary. Paraguay's $0.4B defense budget is 3.6:1 that of Nicaragua ($0.10B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Nicaragua NicaraguaWorld #112 12.7
ATLAS Index / 100

Nicaragua leads overall, ahead on 1 of 6 pillars

Flag of Paraguay ParaguayWorld #123 10.6
  • 23.512K active troops Manpower10 % 40.713K active troops
  • 27.689 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 12.40 combat aircraft Air power25 % 17.34 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 10.2$98M budget Defense budget15 % 14.0$356M budget
Nicaragua Paraguay 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
Nicaragua Paraguay Ratio
Defense budget $98M $356M 🇵🇾 3.6×
– share of GDP 0.5% 0.8% 🇵🇾 1.6×
Active personnel 12,000 13,950 🇵🇾 1.2×
Combat aircraft 0 4 🇵🇾
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 89 0 🇳🇮
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 164,500 🇵🇾
Paramilitary forces 0 14,800 🇵🇾
Military aircraft (all types) 17 52 🇵🇾 3.1×
– helicopters 11 13 🇵🇾 1.2×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $14 $51 🇵🇾 3.6×
Population 7M 7M 🇵🇾 ≈
GDP $22B $49B 🇵🇾 2.2×
GDP per capita $3,173 $7,027 🇵🇾 2.2×
Land area 119,990 km² 397,302 km² 🇵🇾 3.3×
Coastline 910 km 0 km 🇳🇮
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇵🇾 ParaguayEMB-314 Super Tucano ×4
Defense budget history Nicaragua ×1.3 · Paraguay ×1.0 since 2020
Military personnel history
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Air forces
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Nicaragua vsDominican RepublicHondurasEl SalvadorJamaicaGuatemala
Paraguay vsDominican RepublicHondurasEl SalvadorJamaicaGuatemala
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Nicaragua or Paraguay?
Paraguay has approximately 13,950 active military personnel compared to Nicaragua's 12,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Nicaragua or Paraguay?
Paraguay operates 4 combat aircraft compared to Nicaragua's 0. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Nicaragua or Paraguay?
Paraguay has a larger defense budget at $356 million (3.6:1 more) compared to Nicaragua's $98 million annually.
Do Nicaragua and Paraguay have nuclear weapons?
Neither Nicaragua nor Paraguay currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Nicaragua and Paraguay compare?
Nicaragua operates 89 main battle tanks compared to Paraguay's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.