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Military Strength: Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia vs Flag of Taiwan Taiwan

Taiwan (ranked #12 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Saudi Arabia (#14) on the ARMS Index. Saudi Arabia fields 282,000 active troops vs 169,000 for Taiwan, backed by 24,500 paramilitary. Saudi Arabia's $88B defense budget is 4.8:1 that of Taiwan ($18B).

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi ArabiaWorld #14 56.1
ARMS Index / 100

Taiwan leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

Flag of Taiwan TaiwanWorld #12 56.4
  • 75.0282K active troops Manpower15 % 88.2169K active troops
  • 66.9840 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 66.9888 battle tanks
  • 36.730 warships Naval power20 % 58.797 warships
  • 67.6384 combat aircraft Air power25 % 63.5319 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 77.6$88B budget Defense budget10 % 62.3$18B budget
Saudi Arabia Taiwan Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.15 vs ×1.07 · Methodology
Key figures
Saudi Arabia Taiwan Ratio
Defense budget $88B $18B 🇸🇦 4.8×
– share of GDP 7.1% 2.1% 🇸🇦 3.4×
Active personnel 282,000 169,000 🇸🇦 1.7×
Combat aircraft 384 319 🇸🇦 1.2×
Warships 30 97 🇹🇼 3.2×
– submarines 0 4 🇹🇼
Main battle tanks 840 888 🇹🇼 1.1×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 1,657,000 🇹🇼
Paramilitary forces 24,500 13,000 🇸🇦 1.9×
Military aircraft (all types) 914 686 🇸🇦 1.3×
– helicopters 262 239 🇸🇦 1.1×
Budget share of govt spending — 12.4% 🇹🇼
Budget per capita $2,494 $785 🇸🇦 3.2×
Population 35.3M — 🇸🇦
GDP $1.2T — 🇸🇦
GDP per capita $35,122 — 🇸🇦
Land area 2,149,690 km² 32,260 km² 🇸🇦 67×
Coastline 2,640 km 1,566 km 🇸🇦 1.7×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaF-15E Strike Eagle ×148M1 Abrams ×575Al Madinah-class ×4
🇹🇼 TaiwanF-16 Fighting Falcon ×138M60A3 TTS Patton ×460Hai Lung-class ×2
Defense budget history Saudi Arabia ×1.5 · Taiwan ×1.3 since 2020
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Saudi Arabia or Taiwan?
Saudi Arabia has approximately 282,000 active military personnel compared to Taiwan's 169,000, giving Saudi Arabia a 1.7:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Saudi Arabia or Taiwan?
Saudi Arabia operates 384 combat aircraft compared to Taiwan's 319. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Saudi Arabia or Taiwan?
Taiwan has a larger navy with 97 vessels compared to Saudi Arabia's 30 ships. Saudi Arabia operates 0 submarines while Taiwan has 4.
Which country spends more on defense, Saudi Arabia or Taiwan?
Saudi Arabia has a larger defense budget at $88 billion (4.8:1 more) compared to Taiwan's $18.2 billion annually.
Do Saudi Arabia and Taiwan have nuclear weapons?
Neither Saudi Arabia nor Taiwan currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Saudi Arabia and Taiwan compare?
Taiwan operates 888 main battle tanks compared to Saudi Arabia's 840. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.