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Military Strengths of U.S., Allied, and Selected Other Armed Forces

These figures indicate the large size of U.S. military forces compared with potential adversaries. Any simple "bean count" such as this understates the full military strength of the U.S. and its allies. These data portray neither the generally higher capabilities of U.S. and allied weaponry, nor the unrivaled U.S. capabilities in communications, intelligence gathering, logistics, training, maintenance, and global mobility.

	Active Troops	Reserve Troops	Heavy Tanks	Armored Infantry Vehicles	Air planes	Helicopters	Major Warships	Amphibious, Mine, & Support Ships	Military Budget (Billions)
U.S.	1,547,000	2,045,000	10,900	32,545	11,189	7,925	239	164	$265
France	409,000	337,000	890	4,553	1,563	811	60	69	$38
Germany	340,000	415,000	2,988	6,396	820	779	31	82	$32
U.K.	240,000	260,000	541	4,054	1,147	710	52	52	$33
Other NATO	1,523,000	2,656,000	9,768	16,890	3,956	1,827	205	312	$65

Australia	56,000	38,000	71	710	297	153	15	21	$7
Japan	240,000	48,000	1,130	940	946	674	80	63	$45
South Korea	633,000	4,500,000	2,110	2,520	618	621	44	41	$16

U.S. & Allies	4,988,000	10,299,000	28,398	68,581	20,536	13,500	726	804	$501

Cuba	105,000	135,000	1,575	1,100	208	90	4	18	<$1
Iran	513,000	350,000	1,440	950	476	613	7	40	$3
Iraq*	383,000	650,000	2,700	2,900	473	500	1	7	$3
Libya	80,000	40,000	2,210	1,990	749	200	6	23	$1
North Korea	1,128,000	550,000	3,400	2,200	1,139	283	28	32	$5
Sudan	89,000	--	280	570	95	36	--	--	<$1
Syria	423,000	650,000	4,600	3,750	599	257	5	13	$2
Total	2,721,000	2,375,000	16,205	13,460	3,739	1,979	51	133	$15

China*	2,930,000	1,200,000	8,250	4,500	6,100	513	117	340	$32
India	1,145,000	950,000	3,500	1,507	1,501	473	45	54	$8
Pakistan	587,000	513,000	2,050	850	656	180	20	9	$4
Russia	1,520,000	2,400,000	17,650	28,330	5,674	2,903	299	868	$48
Vietnam	572,000	3,000,000	1,300	1,400	322	103	8	48	$1

Other Nato
Belgium	47,000	276,000	334	1,031	314	86	2	15	$3
Canada	71,000	38,000	114	1,858	485	146	23	10	$8
Denmark	33,000	72,000	353	618	99	40	8	17	$3
Greece	171,000	291,000	1,735	2,324	548	228	22	40	$4
Italy	329,000	584,000	1,164	2,954	626	543	40	56	$20
Netherlands	74,000	131,000	734	1,353	181	122	20	35	$8
Norway	30,000	255,000	170	223	113	36	16	18	$4
Portugal	54,000	210,000	186	354	164	40	14	14	$2
Spain	206,000	420,000	698	2,059	487	258	24	48	$7
Turkey	508,000	379,000	4,280	4,116	939	328	36	59	$6
Other NATO Total	1,523,000	2,656,000	9,768	16,890	3,956	1,827	205	312	$65

1996 data except where noted. ^* 1995 expenditures.

Other NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey.

Includes equipment in store. Figures are estimates.

Sources: IISS, DOD, CIA. Table prepared by Center for Defense Information.

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