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

Taiwan (ranked #14 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Vietnam (#20) on the ATLAS Index. Vietnam fields 450,000 active troops — 2.7:1 Taiwan's 169,000, backed by 5,000,000 reserves and 40,000 paramilitary. Taiwan's $18B defense budget is 2.1:1 that of Vietnam ($8.6B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Taiwan TaiwanWorld #14 47.0
ATLAS Index / 100

Taiwan leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Vietnam VietnamWorld #20 43.2
  • 76.2169K active troops Manpower10 % 99.5450K active troops
  • 53.11,018 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 49.71,379 battle tanks
  • 50.186 warships Naval power20 % 44.886 warships
  • 48.1321 combat aircraft Air power25 % 31.370 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 41.5$18B budget Defense budget15 % 39.8$8.6B budget
Taiwan Vietnam 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
Taiwan Vietnam Ratio
Defense budget $18B $8.6B 🇹🇼 2.1×
– share of GDP 2.1% 1.8% 🇹🇼 1.2×
Active personnel 169,000 450,000 🇻🇳 2.7×
Combat aircraft 321 70 🇹🇼 4.6×
Warships 86 86 —
– submarines 4 6 🇻🇳 1.5×
Main battle tanks 1,018 1,379 🇻🇳 1.4×
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) 730 207 🇹🇼 3.5×
– helicopters 239 42 🇹🇼 5.7×
Budget share of govt spending 12.4% — 🇹🇼
Budget per capita $785 $84 🇹🇼 9.3×
Population — 101.6M 🇻🇳
GDP — $515B 🇻🇳
GDP per capita — $5,066 🇻🇳
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-16V Viper ×140M60A3 TTS Patton ×460Hai Lung-class ×2
🇻🇳 VietnamSu-30 Flanker-C ×35T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×1,200Improved Kilo-class ×6
Defense budget history Taiwan ×1.8 · Vietnam ×31.5 since 1992
Military personnel history
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Vietnam has approximately 450,000 active military personnel compared to Taiwan's 169,000, giving Vietnam a 2.7:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Taiwan operates 321 combat aircraft compared to Vietnam's 70. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Who has the larger navy, Taiwan or Vietnam?
Taiwan and Vietnam both have 86 warships. 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 (2.1:1 more) compared to Vietnam's $8.6 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 1,379 main battle tanks compared to Taiwan's 1,018. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.