India vs Sri Lanka Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
VS
Sri Lanka
300K active troops
$2B budget
4,614
Tanks
22
12,000
Armored Vehicles
213
4,275
Artillery
101
266
Rocket Systems
0
538
Fighter Jets
23
812
Helicopters
8
295
Warships
67
17
Submarines
0
Nuclear Arsenal
India
LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
Sri Lanka
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Sri Lanka
17.6% OF LARGEST
255K
TROOPS
India has 5.67× the active personnel of Sri Lanka
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Sri Lanka
3.4% OF LARGEST
75
AIRCRAFT
India has 29.09× the aircraft of Sri Lanka
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,445,000 | 255,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,155,000 | 5,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,610,550 | 260,500 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $81,400,000,000 | $1,890,000,000 |
| Tanks | 4,614 | 22 |
| Armored Vehicles | 12,000 | 213 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 100 | 25 |
| Towed Artillery | 4,175 | 76 |
| Rocket Projectors | 266 | 0 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 2,182 | 75 |
| Fighters | 538 | 23 |
| Attack Aircraft | 172 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 250 | 24 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 359 | 20 |
| Helicopters | 812 | 8 |
| Attack Helicopters | 68 | 0 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 295 | 67 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 0 |
| Frigates | 13 | 0 |
| Corvettes | 19 | 0 |
| Submarines | 17 | 0 |
| Patrol Vessels | 139 | 49 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 3 | 0 |
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