Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Nuclear Arsenal
France
LARGEST
290
WARHEADS
Germany
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Italy
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Spain
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
France
LARGEST
203.85K
TROOPS
Germany
90.0% OF LARGEST
183.5K
TROOPS
Italy
83.4% OF LARGEST
170K
TROOPS
Spain
59.0% OF LARGEST
120.35K
TROOPS
Air Force Total Aircraft
France
LARGEST
1.06K
AIRCRAFT
Italy
81.7% OF LARGEST
862
AIRCRAFT
Germany
58.5% OF LARGEST
617
AIRCRAFT
Spain
49.5% OF LARGEST
522
AIRCRAFT
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Germany
|
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 203,850 | 183,500 | 170,000 | 120,350 |
| Reserve Personnel | 35,000 | 30,000 | 18,300 | 15,150 |
| Total Military Personnel | 240,000 | 214,000 | 188,300 | 135,500 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $55,000,000,000 | $56,000,000,000 | $29,800,000,000 | $14,900,000,000 |
| Tanks | 406 | 266 | 200 | 327 |
| Armored Vehicles | 6,300 | 5,318 | 3,500 | 2,040 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 109 | 121 | 89 | 96 |
| Towed Artillery | 12 | 0 | 70 | 56 |
| Rocket Projectors | 13 | 38 | 21 | 0 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Germany
|
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 1,055 | 617 | 862 | 522 |
| Fighters | 229 | 141 | 96 | 139 |
| Attack Aircraft | 246 | 93 | 58 | 87 |
| Transport Aircraft | 163 | 97 | 87 | 43 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 181 | 177 | 186 | 89 |
| Helicopters | 566 | 380 | 354 | 164 |
| Attack Helicopters | 69 | 53 | 59 | 18 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Germany
|
Italy
|
Spain
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 180 | 80 | 143 | 46 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Frigates | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 10 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| Patrol Vessels | 19 | 0 | 20 | 23 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 18 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full France vs Germany vs Italy vs Spain comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology