Afghanistan vs Pakistan Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Afghanistan
200K active troops
$3B budget
VS
Pakistan
700K active troops
$10B budget
150
Tanks
2,824
2,000
Armored Vehicles
4,686
235
Artillery
2,037
50
Rocket Systems
366
0
Fighter Jets
357
107
Helicopters
332
0
Warships
114
0
Submarines
8
Nuclear Arsenal
Pakistan
LARGEST
170
WARHEADS
Afghanistan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Pakistan
LARGEST
654K
TROOPS
Afghanistan
27.5% OF LARGEST
180K
TROOPS
Pakistan has 3.63× the active personnel of Afghanistan
Air Force Total Aircraft
Pakistan
LARGEST
1.39K
AIRCRAFT
Afghanistan
12.0% OF LARGEST
167
AIRCRAFT
Pakistan has 8.31× the aircraft of Afghanistan
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Pakistan
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 180,000 | 654,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 0 | 550,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 180,000 | 1,204,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $2,800,000,000 | $12,300,000,000 |
| Tanks | 150 | 2,824 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,000 | 4,686 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 85 | 570 |
| Towed Artillery | 150 | 1,467 |
| Rocket Projectors | 50 | 366 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Pakistan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 167 | 1,387 |
| Fighters | 0 | 357 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 85 |
| Transport Aircraft | 40 | 173 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 20 | 338 |
| Helicopters | 107 | 332 |
| Attack Helicopters | 0 | 52 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Pakistan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 0 | 114 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 0 |
| Frigates | 0 | 9 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 0 | 8 |
| Patrol Vessels | 0 | 18 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 3 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Afghanistan vs Pakistan comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology