Mexico vs United Kingdom Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Mexico
300K active troops
$7B budget
VS
United Kingdom
200K active troops
$70B budget
0
Tanks
227
695
Armored Vehicles
5,015
375
Artillery
215
0
Rocket Systems
44
33
Fighter Jets
137
273
Helicopters
332
189
Warships
76
0
Submarines
11
Nuclear Arsenal
United Kingdom
LARGEST
225
WARHEADS
Mexico
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Mexico
LARGEST
277.15K
TROOPS
United Kingdom
55.3% OF LARGEST
153.29K
TROOPS
Mexico has 1.81× the active personnel of United Kingdom
Air Force Total Aircraft
United Kingdom
LARGEST
733
AIRCRAFT
Mexico
67.3% OF LARGEST
493
AIRCRAFT
United Kingdom has 1.49× the aircraft of Mexico
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Mexico
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 277,150 | 153,290 |
| Reserve Personnel | 81,500 | 81,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 358,650 | 234,790 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $7,000,000,000 | $68,400,000,000 |
| Tanks | 0 | 227 |
| Armored Vehicles | 695 | 5,015 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 0 | 89 |
| Towed Artillery | 375 | 126 |
| Rocket Projectors | 0 | 44 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Mexico
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 493 | 733 |
| Fighters | 33 | 137 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 143 |
| Transport Aircraft | 128 | 288 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 47 | 175 |
| Helicopters | 273 | 332 |
| Attack Helicopters | 0 | 50 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Mexico
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 189 | 76 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 2 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 6 |
| Frigates | 8 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 0 | 11 |
| Patrol Vessels | 143 | 22 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 13 |
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