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Military Strength: Flag of Syria Syria vs Flag of Yemen Yemen

Yemen (ranked #89 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Syria (#97) on the ATLAS Index. Syria fields 169,000 active troops — 4.2:1 Yemen's 40,000. Syria allocates $2.5B to defense compared to $1.7B for Yemen.

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Syria SyriaWorld #97 15.1
ATLAS Index / 100

Yemen leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

Flag of Yemen YemenWorld #89 17.2
  • 47.3169K active troops Manpower10 % 33.440K active troops
  • 20.4365 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 0.00 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 23.216 warships
  • 10.92 combat aircraft Air power25 % 23.669 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 22.8$2.5B budget Defense budget15 % 20.8$1.7B budget
Syria Yemen 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
Syria Yemen Ratio
Defense budget $2.5B $1.7B 🇸🇾 1.5×
– share of GDP 4.1% 4.0% 🇸🇾 ≈
Active personnel 169,000 40,000 🇸🇾 4.2×
Combat aircraft 2 69 🇾🇪 34×
Warships 0 16 🇾🇪
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 365 0 🇸🇾
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 0 —
Paramilitary forces 0 0 —
Military aircraft (all types) 11 134 🇾🇪 12×
– helicopters 6 34 🇾🇪 5.7×
Budget share of govt spending 13.6% 14.3% 🇾🇪 ≈
Budget per capita $110 $58 🇸🇾 1.9×
Population 25.6M 41.8M 🇾🇪 1.6×
GDP $24B $22B 🇸🇾 1.1×
GDP per capita $927 $517 🇸🇾 1.8×
Land area 183,630 km² 527,968 km² 🇾🇪 2.9×
Coastline 193 km 1,906 km 🇾🇪 9.9×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇸🇾 SyriaSu-17 Fitter ×2
🇾🇪 YemenMiG-29 Fulcrum ×23
Defense budget history Syria ×0.8 · Yemen ×1.2 since 1992
Military personnel history
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Syria vsMongoliaAfghanistanGeorgiaLaosArmenia
Yemen vsSaudi ArabiaArmeniaGeorgiaLebanonMongolia
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Syria or Yemen?
Syria has approximately 169,000 active military personnel compared to Yemen's 40,000, giving Syria a 4.2:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Syria or Yemen?
Yemen operates 69 combat aircraft compared to Syria's 2. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Syria or Yemen?
Yemen has a larger navy with 16 warships compared to Syria's 0.
Which country spends more on defense, Syria or Yemen?
Syria has a larger defense budget at $2.5 billion compared to Yemen's $1.7 billion annually.
Do Syria and Yemen have nuclear weapons?
Neither Syria nor Yemen currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Syria and Yemen compare?
Syria operates 365 main battle tanks compared to Yemen's 0. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.