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Military Strength: Flag of Iraq Iraq vs Flag of Turkey Turkey

Turkey (ranked #10 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Iraq (#36) on the ATLAS Index. Iraq fields 459,000 active troops vs 512,000 for Turkey, backed by 378,700 reserves and 156,800 paramilitary. Turkey's $31B defense budget is 4.5:1 that of Iraq ($7B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Iraq IraqWorld #36 33.8
ATLAS Index / 100

Turkey leads on 6 of 6 pillars

Flag of Turkey TurkeyWorld #10 51.0
  • 53.5459K active troops Manpower10 % 67.1512K active troops
  • 53.41,025 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 64.32,238 battle tanks
  • 19.862 warships Naval power20 % 50.3195 warships
  • 33.253 combat aircraft Air power25 % 50.0299 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 3.720 hosted warheads
  • 34.2$7B budget Defense budget15 % 52.3$31B budget
Iraq Turkey 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
Iraq Turkey Ratio
Defense budget $7B $31B 🇹🇷 4.5×
– share of GDP 2.5% 2.3% 🇮🇶 1.1×
Active personnel 459,000 512,000 🇹🇷 1.1×
Combat aircraft 53 299 🇹🇷 5.6×
Warships 62 195 🇹🇷 3.1×
– submarines 0 13 🇹🇷
Main battle tanks 1,025 2,238 🇹🇷 2.2×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 12 more rowsHide the 12 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 378,700 🇹🇷
Paramilitary forces 266,000 156,800 🇮🇶 1.7×
Military aircraft (all types) 396 1,357 🇹🇷 3.4×
– helicopters 213 458 🇹🇷 2.2×
Deployed warheads 0 20 🇹🇷
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $152 $366 🇹🇷 2.4×
Population 46M 85.5M 🇹🇷 1.9×
GDP $280B $1.4T 🇹🇷 4.9×
GDP per capita $6,074 $15,893 🇹🇷 2.6×
Land area 437,367 km² 769,632 km² 🇹🇷 1.8×
Coastline 58 km 7,200 km 🇹🇷 124×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇮🇶 IraqF-16 Fighting Falcon ×34M1 Abrams ×487
🇹🇷 TurkeyF-16 Fighting Falcon ×238M60A3 TTS Patton ×815Type 209-class ×12
Defense budget history Iraq ×1.1 · Turkey ×2.2 since 2021
Military personnel history
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Turkey vsUnited StatesGreeceEgyptIsraelIran
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has approximately 512,000 active military personnel compared to Iraq's 459,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey operates 299 combat aircraft compared to Iraq's 53. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has a larger navy with 195 vessels compared to Iraq's 62 ships. Iraq operates 0 submarines while Turkey has 13.
Which country spends more on defense, Iraq or Turkey?
Turkey has a larger defense budget at $31.3 billion (4.5:1 more) compared to Iraq's $7 billion annually.
Do Iraq and Turkey have nuclear weapons?
Neither Iraq nor Turkey currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Iraq and Turkey compare?
Turkey operates 2,238 main battle tanks compared to Iraq's 1,025. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.