According to the United Nations, 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers were killed by Israeli forces eight days ago in southern Gaza. Included in the deaths was at least one United Nations employee. As reported in the Guardian, the workers were on their way in clearly marked vehicles to rescue colleagues when they came under attack from Israeli forces. Currently, ceasefire negotiations are being worked on between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The war has waged on since Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023.
Amid an unstable region, Middle East countries spend extreme amounts of money to shore up their militaries. From arms races to recruiting forces, we took a deep dive into which countries have the greatest military might in the region. (Also see the Middle Eastern countries with the largest tank armies.)
24/7 Wall St. ranked the countries with the strongest militaries in the Middle East by reviewing the report, 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex. The PowerIndex is a composite score of more than 60 measures in various categories, including logistical capability, geography, and military might. The smaller the PowerIndex value, the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We also included information on the active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power.
(This article was updated on April 1, 2025, to reflect recent news from the United Nations regarding the death of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers.)
Why Are We Covering This Now?
Tensions run high in the Middle East, with the area highly unstable. Although ceasefire negotiations are on the table for Israel and Hamas, the area is still in crisis. Understanding the military dynamics in the Middle East is essential, given the region’s historical and ongoing geopolitical tensions. For decades, the Middle East has been shaped by tensions, religious divisions, and territorial disputes, making it a hotspot for conflict. Whether it’s Iran’s growing influence or the strategic role of countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel, the military forces in this region heavily influence global security and energy markets.
Here is a look at the strongest militaries in the Middle East:
17. Lebanon
- Active military personnel: 60,000
- Reserve military personnel: 35,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 65,000
- Total military personnel: 160,000
- Total military aircraft: 81
- Total helicopters: 69
- Total military vehicles: 4,522
- Total tanks: 204
- Total artillery units: 458
- Total navy ships and submarines: 69
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.4283 – #118 out of 145
- Total population: 5.3 million (1.8 million are fit to serve in the military)
16. Afghanistan
- Active military personnel: 0
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 80,000
- Total military personnel: 80,000
- Total military aircraft: 17
- Total helicopters: 11
- Total military vehicles: 6,555
- Total tanks: 0
- Total artillery units: 0
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.2715 – #115 out of 145
- Total population: 39.2 million (8.6 million are fit to serve in the military)
15. Bahrain
- Active military personnel: 18,400
- Reserve military personnel: 110,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 1,500
- Total military personnel: 129,900
- Total military aircraft: 120
- Total helicopters: 74
- Total military vehicles: 2,598
- Total tanks: 180
- Total artillery units: 64
- Total navy ships and submarines: 58
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.7163 – #86 out of 145
- Total population: 1.6 million (714,788 are fit to serve in the military)
14. Yemen
- Active military personnel: 66,700
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 20,000
- Total military personnel: 86,700
- Total military aircraft: 177
- Total helicopters: 61
- Total military vehicles: 4,800
- Total tanks: 55
- Total artillery units: 26
- Total navy ships and submarines: 38
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.4692 – #81 out of 145
- Total population: 31.6 million (8.9 million are fit to serve in the military)
13. Jordan
- Active military personnel: 100,500
- Reserve military personnel: 65,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 35,000
- Total military personnel: 200,500
- Total military aircraft: 265
- Total helicopters: 148
- Total military vehicles: 24,148
- Total tanks: 1,365
- Total artillery units: 283
- Total navy ships and submarines: 27
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.4651 – #80 out of 145
- Total population: 11.0 million (3.0 million are fit to serve in the military)
12. Oman
- Active military personnel: 42,600
- Reserve military personnel: 100,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 10,000
- Total military personnel: 152,600
- Total military aircraft: 128
- Total helicopters: 31
- Total military vehicles: 5,019
- Total tanks: 154
- Total artillery units: 165
- Total navy ships and submarines: 22
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.4448 – #78 out of 145
- Total population: 3.8 million (1.3 million are fit to serve in the military)
11. Kuwait
- Active military personnel: 72,000
- Reserve military personnel: 24,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 7,500
- Total military personnel: 103,500
- Total military aircraft: 144
- Total helicopters: 60
- Total military vehicles: 4,409
- Total tanks: 367
- Total artillery units: 74
- Total navy ships and submarines: 123
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.4261 – #77 out of 145
- Total population: 3.1 million (1.4 million are fit to serve in the military)
10. Qatar
- Active military personnel: 66,550
- Reserve military personnel: 15,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 5,500
- Total military personnel: 87,050
- Total military aircraft: 228
- Total helicopters: 67
- Total military vehicles: 5,544
- Total tanks: 99
- Total artillery units: 58
- Total navy ships and submarines: 123
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0789 – #63 out of 145
- Total population: 2.5 million (486,164 are fit to serve in the military)
9. Syria
- Active military personnel: 170,000
- Reserve military personnel: 50,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 50,000
- Total military personnel: 270,000
- Total military aircraft: 452
- Total helicopters: 153
- Total military vehicles: 14,550
- Total tanks: 2,720
- Total artillery units: 2,695
- Total navy ships and submarines: 47
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0026 – #60 out of 145
- Total population: 22.9 million (12.7 million are fit to serve in the military)
8. United Arab Emirates
- Active military personnel: 65,000
- Reserve military personnel: 130,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 12,000
- Total military personnel: 207,000
- Total military aircraft: 560
- Total helicopters: 246
- Total military vehicles: 12,253
- Total tanks: 354
- Total artillery units: 282
- Total navy ships and submarines: 79
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8083 – #51 out of 145
- Total population: 10.0 million (4.9 million are fit to serve in the military)
7. Iraq
- Active military personnel: 193,000
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 100,000
- Total military personnel: 293,000
- Total military aircraft: 371
- Total helicopters: 197
- Total military vehicles: 39,872
- Total tanks: 848
- Total artillery units: 1,727
- Total navy ships and submarines: 68
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7441 – #45 out of 145
- Total population: 41.2 million (14.0 million are fit to serve in the military)
6. Saudi Arabia
- Active military personnel: 257,000
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 150,000
- Total military personnel: 407,000
- Total military aircraft: 914
- Total helicopters: 262
- Total military vehicles: 20,694
- Total tanks: 1,485
- Total artillery units: 3,253
- Total navy ships and submarines: 57
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3235 – #23 out of 145
- Total population: 36.0 million (17.2 million are fit to serve in the military)
5. Israel
- Active military personnel: 170,000
- Reserve military personnel: 465,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 35,000
- Total military personnel: 670,000
- Total military aircraft: 612
- Total helicopters: 146
- Total military vehicles: 43,407
- Total tanks: 1,370
- Total artillery units: 950
- Total navy ships and submarines: 67
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2596 – #17 out of 145
- Total population: 9.0 million (3.2 million are fit to serve in the military)
4. Egypt
- Active military personnel: 440,000
- Reserve military personnel: 480,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 300,000
- Total military personnel: 1,220,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,080
- Total helicopters: 338
- Total military vehicles: 77,596
- Total tanks: 5,340
- Total artillery units: 3,046
- Total navy ships and submarines: 140
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
- Total population: 109.5 million (37.7 million are fit to serve in the military)
3. Iran
- Active military personnel: 610,000
- Reserve military personnel: 350,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 220,000
- Total military personnel: 1,180,000
- Total military aircraft: 551
- Total helicopters: 129
- Total military vehicles: 65,765
- Total tanks: 1,996
- Total artillery units: 2,630
- Total navy ships and submarines: 101
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2269 – #14 out of 145
- Total population: 87.6 million (41.2 million are fit to serve in the military)
2. Pakistan
- Active military personnel: 654,000
- Reserve military personnel: 550,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 500,000
- Total military personnel: 1,704,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,434
- Total helicopters: 352
- Total military vehicles: 50,523
- Total tanks: 3,742
- Total artillery units: 3,990
- Total navy ships and submarines: 114
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145
- Total population: 247.7 million (84.2 million are fit to serve in the military)
1. Turkey
- Active military personnel: 355,200
- Reserve military personnel: 378,700
- Paramilitary personnel: 150,000
- Total military personnel: 883,900
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total helicopters: 502
- Total military vehicles: 55,104
- Total tanks: 2,231
- Total artillery units: 2,785
- Total navy ships and submarines: 186
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
- Total population: 83.6 million (3.6 million are fit to serve in the military)
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