India vs South Korea Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
VS
South Korea
600K active troops
$50B budget
4,614
Tanks
2,321
12,000
Armored Vehicles
3,100
4,275
Artillery
3,536
266
Rocket Systems
600
538
Fighter Jets
406
812
Helicopters
833
295
Warships
234
17
Submarines
22
Nuclear Arsenal
India
LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
South Korea
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
South Korea
38.4% OF LARGEST
555K
TROOPS
India has 2.60× the active personnel of South Korea
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
South Korea
72.5% OF LARGEST
1.58K
AIRCRAFT
India has 1.38× the aircraft of South Korea
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,445,000 | 555,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,155,000 | 3,100,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,610,550 | 3,655,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $81,400,000,000 | $46,700,000,000 |
| Tanks | 4,614 | 2,321 |
| Armored Vehicles | 12,000 | 3,100 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 100 | 1,836 |
| Towed Artillery | 4,175 | 1,700 |
| Rocket Projectors | 266 | 600 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 2,182 | 1,581 |
| Fighters | 538 | 406 |
| Attack Aircraft | 172 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 250 | 49 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 359 | 293 |
| Helicopters | 812 | 833 |
| Attack Helicopters | 68 | 112 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 295 | 234 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 12 |
| Frigates | 13 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 19 | 34 |
| Submarines | 17 | 22 |
| Patrol Vessels | 139 | 111 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 3 | 11 |
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