Thailand vs Vietnam Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Thailand
400K active troops
$7B budget
VS
Vietnam
500K active troops
$6B budget
737
Tanks
2,575
2,614
Armored Vehicles
2,800
450
Artillery
1,120
64
Rocket Systems
1,000
76
Fighter Jets
114
279
Helicopters
136
164
Warships
65
0
Submarines
6
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Vietnam
LARGEST
482K
TROOPS
Thailand
74.9% OF LARGEST
360.85K
TROOPS
Vietnam has 1.34× the active personnel of Thailand
Air Force Total Aircraft
Thailand
LARGEST
555
AIRCRAFT
Vietnam
57.3% OF LARGEST
318
AIRCRAFT
Thailand has 1.75× the aircraft of Vietnam
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Thailand
|
Vietnam
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 360,850 | 482,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 200,000 | 5,000,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 560,850 | 5,482,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $7,300,000,000 | $5,500,000,000 |
| Tanks | 737 | 2,575 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,614 | 2,800 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 24 | 120 |
| Towed Artillery | 426 | 1,000 |
| Rocket Projectors | 64 | 1,000 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Thailand
|
Vietnam
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 555 | 318 |
| Fighters | 76 | 114 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 57 | 34 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 143 | 34 |
| Helicopters | 279 | 136 |
| Attack Helicopters | 7 | 28 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Thailand
|
Vietnam
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 164 | 65 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 1 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 0 |
| Frigates | 11 | 8 |
| Corvettes | 7 | 0 |
| Submarines | 0 | 6 |
| Patrol Vessels | 81 | 32 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 6 | 8 |
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