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Military Strength: Flag of Portugal Portugal vs Flag of Serbia Serbia

Portugal (ranked #52 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Serbia (#63) on the ARMS Index. Portugal fields 52,000 active troops vs 32,000 for Serbia, backed by 23,500 reserves and 24,700 paramilitary. Portugal's $6.3B defense budget is 2.8:1 that of Serbia ($2.3B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Portugal PortugalWorld #52 37.7
ARMS Index / 100

Portugal leads on 3 of 6 pillars

Flag of Serbia SerbiaWorld #63 33.5
  • 59.052K active troops Manpower15 % 60.432K active troops
  • 41.434 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 54.4262 battle tanks
  • 35.334 warships Naval power20 % 14.430 warships
  • 39.433 combat aircraft Air power25 % 38.932 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 48.6$6.3B budget Defense budget10 % 39.8$2.3B budget
Portugal Serbia Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.12 vs ×1.05 · Methodology
Key figures
Portugal Serbia Ratio
Defense budget $6.3B $2.3B 🇵🇹 2.8×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.5% 🇷🇸 1.2×
Active personnel 52,000 32,000 🇵🇹 1.6×
Combat aircraft 33 32 🇵🇹 ≈
Warships 34 30 🇵🇹 1.1×
– submarines 2 0 🇵🇹
Main battle tanks 34 262 🇷🇸 7.7×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 23,500 50,150 🇷🇸 2.1×
Paramilitary forces 24,700 3,000 🇵🇹 8.2×
Military aircraft (all types) 100 132 🇷🇸 1.3×
– helicopters 28 61 🇷🇸 2.2×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $586 $342 🇵🇹 1.7×
Population 10.7M 6.6M 🇵🇹 1.6×
GDP $313B $90B 🇵🇹 3.5×
GDP per capita $29,292 $13,679 🇵🇹 2.1×
Land area 91,119 km² 88,246 km² 🇵🇹 ≈
Coastline 1,793 km 0 km 🇵🇹
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇵🇹 PortugalF-16 Fighting Falcon ×28Leopard 2 ×34Type 214-class ×2
🇷🇸 SerbiaIAR-93 / J-22 Orao ×17M-84 ×212
Defense budget history Portugal ×1.3 · Serbia ×1.5 since 2021
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Portugal or Serbia?
Portugal has approximately 52,000 active military personnel compared to Serbia's 32,000, giving Portugal a 1.6:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Portugal or Serbia?
Portugal operates 33 combat aircraft compared to Serbia's 32. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Portugal or Serbia?
Portugal has a larger navy with 34 vessels compared to Serbia's 30 ships. Portugal operates 2 submarines while Serbia has 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Portugal or Serbia?
Portugal has a larger defense budget at $6.3 billion (2.8:1 more) compared to Serbia's $2.3 billion annually.
Do Portugal and Serbia have nuclear weapons?
Neither Portugal nor Serbia currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Portugal and Serbia compare?
Serbia operates 262 main battle tanks compared to Portugal's 34. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.