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Military Strength: Flag of Netherlands Netherlands vs Flag of Portugal Portugal

Netherlands (ranked #36 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Portugal (#52) on the ARMS Index. Netherlands fields 41,000 active troops vs 52,000 for Portugal, backed by 23,500 reserves and 24,700 paramilitary. Netherlands's $30B defense budget is 4.8:1 that of Portugal ($6.3B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Netherlands NetherlandsWorld #36 44.6
ARMS Index / 100

Netherlands leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Portugal PortugalWorld #52 37.7
  • 57.841K active troops Manpower15 % 59.052K active troops
  • 43.218 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 41.434 battle tanks
  • 40.837 warships Naval power20 % 35.334 warships
  • 45.740 combat aircraft Air power25 % 39.233 combat aircraft
  • 2.515 hosted warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 63.3$30B budget Defense budget10 % 48.6$6.3B budget
Netherlands Portugal Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.20 vs ×1.12 · Methodology
Key figures
Netherlands Portugal Ratio
Defense budget $30B $6.3B 🇳🇱 4.8×
– share of GDP 2.5% 2.0% 🇳🇱 1.2×
Active personnel 41,000 52,000 🇵🇹 1.3×
Combat aircraft 40 33 🇳🇱 1.2×
Warships 37 34 🇳🇱 1.1×
– submarines 3 2 🇳🇱 1.5×
Main battle tanks 18 34 🇵🇹 1.9×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 6,350 23,500 🇵🇹 3.7×
Paramilitary forces 6,800 24,700 🇵🇹 3.6×
Military aircraft (all types) 146 100 🇳🇱 1.5×
– helicopters 67 28 🇳🇱 2.4×
Deployed warheads 15 0 🇳🇱
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $1,688 $586 🇳🇱 2.9×
Population 18M 10.7M 🇳🇱 1.7×
GDP $1.2T $313B 🇳🇱 3.9×
GDP per capita $67,520 $29,292 🇳🇱 2.3×
Land area 33,893 km² 91,119 km² 🇵🇹 2.7×
Coastline 451 km 1,793 km 🇵🇹 4.0×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇳🇱 NetherlandsF-35 Lightning II ×40Leopard 2 ×18Walrus-class ×3
🇵🇹 PortugalF-16 Fighting Falcon ×28Leopard 2 ×34Type 214-class ×2
Defense budget history Netherlands ×2.2 · Portugal ×1.6 since 2021
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Netherlands or Portugal?
Portugal has approximately 52,000 active military personnel compared to Netherlands's 41,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Netherlands or Portugal?
Netherlands operates 40 combat aircraft compared to Portugal's 33. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Netherlands or Portugal?
Netherlands has a larger navy with 37 vessels compared to Portugal's 34 ships. Netherlands operates 3 submarines while Portugal has 2.
Which country spends more on defense, Netherlands or Portugal?
Netherlands has a larger defense budget at $30.4 billion (4.8:1 more) compared to Portugal's $6.3 billion annually.
Do Netherlands and Portugal have nuclear weapons?
Neither Netherlands nor Portugal currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Netherlands and Portugal compare?
Portugal operates 34 main battle tanks compared to Netherlands's 18. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.