Afghanistan vs India Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Afghanistan
200K active troops
$3B budget
VS
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
150
Tanks
4,614
2,000
Armored Vehicles
12,000
235
Artillery
4,275
50
Rocket Systems
266
0
Fighter Jets
538
107
Helicopters
812
0
Warships
295
0
Submarines
17
Nuclear Arsenal
India
LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
Afghanistan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Afghanistan
12.5% OF LARGEST
180K
TROOPS
India has 8.03× the active personnel of Afghanistan
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Afghanistan
7.7% OF LARGEST
167
AIRCRAFT
India has 13.07× the aircraft of Afghanistan
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 180,000 | 1,445,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 0 | 1,155,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 180,000 | 2,610,550 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $2,800,000,000 | $81,400,000,000 |
| Tanks | 150 | 4,614 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,000 | 12,000 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 85 | 100 |
| Towed Artillery | 150 | 4,175 |
| Rocket Projectors | 50 | 266 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 167 | 2,182 |
| Fighters | 0 | 538 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 172 |
| Transport Aircraft | 40 | 250 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 20 | 359 |
| Helicopters | 107 | 812 |
| Attack Helicopters | 0 | 68 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 0 | 295 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 2 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 12 |
| Frigates | 0 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 19 |
| Submarines | 0 | 17 |
| Patrol Vessels | 0 | 139 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 3 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Afghanistan vs India comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology