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Military Strength: Flag of Portugal Portugal vs Flag of Sweden Sweden

Sweden (ranked #42 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Portugal (#55) on the ATLAS Index. Portugal fields 52,000 active troops — 3.5:1 Sweden's 15,000, backed by 23,500 reserves and 24,700 paramilitary. Sweden's $15B defense budget is 2.4:1 that of Portugal ($6.3B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Portugal PortugalWorld #55 27.5
ATLAS Index / 100

Sweden leads on 5 of 6 pillars

Flag of Sweden SwedenWorld #42 32.2
  • 36.152K active troops Manpower10 % 37.415K active troops
  • 26.034 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 32.3110 battle tanks
  • 34.934 warships Naval power20 % 37.1232 warships
  • 26.833 combat aircraft Air power25 % 35.496 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 31.4$6.3B budget Defense budget15 % 36.0$15B budget
Portugal Sweden 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
Portugal Sweden Ratio
Defense budget $6.3B $15B 🇸🇪 2.4×
– share of GDP 2.0% 2.5% 🇸🇪 1.2×
Active personnel 52,000 15,000 🇵🇹 3.5×
Combat aircraft 33 96 🇸🇪 2.9×
Warships 34 232 🇸🇪 6.8×
– submarines 2 5 🇸🇪 2.5×
Main battle tanks 34 110 🇸🇪 3.2×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 23,500 32,900 🇸🇪 1.4×
Paramilitary forces 24,700 21,200 🇵🇹 1.2×
Military aircraft (all types) 100 178 🇸🇪 1.8×
– helicopters 28 53 🇸🇪 1.9×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $586 $1,428 🇸🇪 2.4×
Population 10.7M 10.6M 🇵🇹 ≈
GDP $313B $604B 🇸🇪 1.9×
GDP per capita $29,292 $57,117 🇸🇪 1.9×
Land area 91,119 km² 407,284 km² 🇸🇪 4.5×
Coastline 1,793 km 3,218 km 🇸🇪 1.8×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇵🇹 PortugalF-16 Fighting Falcon ×28Leopard 2 ×34Type 214-class ×2
🇸🇪 SwedenJAS 39 Gripen ×96Leopard 2 ×110Götland-class ×3
Defense budget history Portugal ×1.6 · Sweden ×1.7 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Portugal or Sweden?
Portugal has approximately 52,000 active military personnel compared to Sweden's 15,000, giving Portugal a 3.5:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Portugal or Sweden?
Sweden operates 96 combat aircraft compared to Portugal's 33. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Portugal or Sweden?
Sweden has a larger navy with 232 vessels compared to Portugal's 34 ships. Portugal operates 2 submarines while Sweden has 5.
Which country spends more on defense, Portugal or Sweden?
Sweden has a larger defense budget at $15.1 billion (2.4:1 more) compared to Portugal's $6.3 billion annually.
Do Portugal and Sweden have nuclear weapons?
Neither Portugal nor Sweden currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Portugal and Sweden compare?
Sweden operates 110 main battle tanks compared to Portugal's 34. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.