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Military Strength: Flag of Russia Russia vs Flag of Syria Syria

Russia (ranked #3 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Syria (#97) on the ATLAS Index. Russia fields 1,100,000 active troops — 6.5:1 Syria's 169,000, backed by 1,500,000 reserves and 559,000 paramilitary. Russia's $152B defense budget is 61:1 that of Syria ($2.5B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Russia RussiaWorld #3 83.0
ATLAS Index / 100

Russia leads on 6 of 6 pillars

Flag of Syria SyriaWorld #97 15.1
  • 93.31.1M active troops Manpower10 % 47.3169K active troops
  • 81.05,560 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 20.4365 battle tanks
  • 82.4279 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 73.61,482 combat aircraft Air power25 % 10.92 combat aircraft
  • 100.05,420 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 77.8$152B budget Defense budget15 % 22.8$2.5B budget
Russia Syria 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
Russia Syria Ratio
Defense budget $152B $2.5B 🇷🇺 61×
– share of GDP 7.0% 4.1% 🇷🇺 1.7×
Active personnel 1,100,000 169,000 🇷🇺 6.5×
Combat aircraft 1,482 2 🇷🇺 741×
Warships 279 0 🇷🇺
– submarines 56 0 🇷🇺
Main battle tanks 5,560 365 🇷🇺 15×
Nuclear warheads 5,420 0 🇷🇺
Show full breakdown · 13 more rowsHide the 13 extra rows
Reserve troops 1,500,000 0 🇷🇺
Paramilitary forces 559,000 0 🇷🇺
Military aircraft (all types) 5,312 11 🇷🇺 483×
– helicopters 1,585 6 🇷🇺 264×
– bombers 116 0 🇷🇺
Deployed warheads 1,796 0 🇷🇺
Budget share of govt spending — 13.6% 🇸🇾
Budget per capita $1,060 $110 🇷🇺 9.7×
Population 143.5M 25.6M 🇷🇺 5.6×
GDP $2.6T $24B 🇷🇺 108×
GDP per capita $17,847 $927 🇷🇺 19×
Land area 16,378,410 km² 183,630 km² 🇷🇺 89×
Coastline 37,653 km 193 km 🇷🇺 195×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇷🇺 RussiaSu-24 Fencer ×294T-72 ×1,470Improved Kilo-class ×10
🇸🇾 SyriaSu-17 Fitter ×2
Defense budget history
Military personnel history
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Syria vsMongoliaAfghanistanGeorgiaLaosYemen
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Russia or Syria?
Russia has approximately 1,100,000 active military personnel compared to Syria's 169,000, giving Russia a 6.5:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Russia or Syria?
Russia operates 1,482 combat aircraft compared to Syria's 2. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Russia or Syria?
Russia has a larger navy with 279 warships compared to Syria's 0. Russia operates 56 submarines while Syria has 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Russia or Syria?
Russia has a larger defense budget at $152.2 billion (61:1 more) compared to Syria's $2.5 billion annually.
Do Russia and Syria have nuclear weapons?
Russia possesses nuclear weapons with approximately 5,420 warheads, while Syria does not have nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Russia and Syria compare?
Russia operates 5,560 main battle tanks compared to Syria's 365. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.