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Military Strength: Flag of Taiwan Taiwan vs Flag of Vietnam Vietnam

Taiwan (ranked #12 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Vietnam (#26) on the ARMS Index. Vietnam fields 522,000 active troops — 3.1:1 Taiwan's 169,000, backed by 5,000,000 reserves and 40,000 paramilitary. Taiwan allocates $18B to defense compared to $10B for Vietnam.

ARMS (Aggregate Rating of Military Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Taiwan TaiwanWorld #12 56.4
ARMS Index / 100

Taiwan leads overall, ahead on 2 of 6 pillars

Flag of Vietnam VietnamWorld #26 48.7
  • 88.2169K active troops Manpower15 % 99.6522K active troops
  • 66.9888 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 70.91,374 battle tanks
  • 58.797 warships Naval power20 % 53.7112 warships
  • 63.5319 combat aircraft Air power25 % 44.671 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 62.3$18B budget Defense budget10 % 62.6$10B budget
Taiwan Vietnam Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×1.07 vs ×0.97 · Methodology
Key figures
Taiwan Vietnam Ratio
Defense budget $18B $10B 🇹🇼 1.7×
– share of GDP 2.1% 2.2% 🇻🇳 ≈
Active personnel 169,000 522,000 🇻🇳 3.1×
Combat aircraft 319 71 🇹🇼 4.5×
Warships 97 112 🇻🇳 1.2×
– submarines 4 6 🇻🇳 1.5×
Main battle tanks 888 1,374 🇻🇳 1.5×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 1,657,000 5,000,000 🇻🇳 3.0×
Paramilitary forces 13,000 40,000 🇻🇳 3.1×
Military aircraft (all types) 686 205 🇹🇼 3.3×
– helicopters 239 42 🇹🇼 5.7×
Budget share of govt spending 12.4% 9.9% 🇹🇼 1.2×
Budget per capita $785 $104 🇹🇼 7.6×
Population — 101M 🇻🇳
GDP — $476B 🇻🇳
GDP per capita — $4,717 🇻🇳
Land area 32,260 km² 310,070 km² 🇻🇳 9.6×
Coastline 1,566 km 3,444 km 🇻🇳 2.2×
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇹🇼 TaiwanF-16 Fighting Falcon ×138M60A3 TTS Patton ×460Hai Lung-class ×2
🇻🇳 VietnamSu-27 Flanker ×46T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×1,200Kilo-class ×6
Defense budget history Taiwan ×2.6 · Vietnam ×8.0 since 1988
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Vietnam has approximately 522,000 active military personnel compared to Taiwan's 169,000, giving Vietnam a 3.1:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Taiwan operates 319 combat aircraft compared to Vietnam's 71. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Vietnam has a larger navy with 112 vessels compared to Taiwan's 97 ships. Taiwan operates 4 submarines while Vietnam has 6.
Which country spends more on defense, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Taiwan has a larger defense budget at $18.2 billion (1.7:1 more) compared to Vietnam's $10.5 billion annually.
Do Taiwan and Vietnam have nuclear weapons?
Neither Taiwan nor Vietnam currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Taiwan and Vietnam compare?
Vietnam operates 1,374 main battle tanks compared to Taiwan's 888. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.