Italy vs Spain Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Italy
200K active troops
$30B budget
VS
Spain
100K active troops
$10B budget
200
Tanks
327
3,500
Armored Vehicles
2,040
159
Artillery
152
21
Rocket Systems
0
96
Fighter Jets
139
354
Helicopters
164
143
Warships
46
8
Submarines
3
Nuclear Arsenal
Italy
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Spain
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Italy
LARGEST
170K
TROOPS
Spain
70.8% OF LARGEST
120.35K
TROOPS
Italy has 1.41× the active personnel of Spain
Air Force Total Aircraft
Italy
LARGEST
862
AIRCRAFT
Spain
60.6% OF LARGEST
522
AIRCRAFT
Italy has 1.65× the aircraft of Spain
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 170,000 | 120,350 |
| Reserve Personnel | 18,300 | 15,150 |
| Total Military Personnel | 188,300 | 135,500 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $29,800,000,000 | $14,900,000,000 |
| Tanks | 200 | 327 |
| Armored Vehicles | 3,500 | 2,040 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 89 | 96 |
| Towed Artillery | 70 | 56 |
| Rocket Projectors | 21 | 0 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 862 | 522 |
| Fighters | 96 | 139 |
| Attack Aircraft | 58 | 87 |
| Transport Aircraft | 87 | 43 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 186 | 89 |
| Helicopters | 354 | 164 |
| Attack Helicopters | 59 | 18 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 143 | 46 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 4 | 0 |
| Frigates | 10 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 8 | 3 |
| Patrol Vessels | 20 | 23 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 10 | 6 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology