Korea, Rep.

East Asia & Pacific · Seoul

Rank #7 of 173

77.9Strength score

Photos

Army Chief of Staff and Sergeant Major of the Army Visit Soldiers in South Korea (9335978) — Army Chief of Staff and Sergeant Major of the Army Visit Soldiers in South Korea (9335978)U.S. Army 2ID by Sgt. Oniel McDonald · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

USS BLUE RIDGE HOLDS SHIP TOURS IN BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA (9347332) — USS BLUE RIDGE HOLDS SHIP TOURS IN BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA (9347332)U.S. Navy LCC-19 by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Craft · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II formation flight over Wake Island - June 2025 — US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II formation flight over Wake Island - June 2025Senior Airman Audree Campbell, USAF · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Strength by area

Finance89
Air power75
Manpower97
Land forces93
Naval power81
Nuclear0

Finance

Defence budget: $47.8B #13
Budget as % of GDP: 2.60% #45
Spending per person: $924 #27
GDP: $1.87T #13
Population: 51,684,564 #29

Manpower

Active personnel: 450,000 #10
Reserve personnel: 3,100,000 #2
Paramilitary: 13,500 #34
Total personnel: 3,563,500 #4

Land forces

Tanks: 1,831 #10
Armoured vehicles: —
Self-propelled artillery: 2,780 #3
Towed artillery: 5,800 #2
Rocket launchers (MLRS): 525 #10

Air power

Total aircraft: 1,540 #5
Fighter jets: 242 #10
Attack aircraft & bombers: 98 #6
Transport aircraft: 40 #25
Helicopters: 827 #4
Attack helicopters: 113 #5

Naval power

Total naval vessels: 155 #12
Aircraft carriers: 0
Helicopter carriers: 2 #8
Submarines: 22 #7
Destroyers: 14 #4
Frigates: 18 #4
Corvettes: 3 #25
Patrol vessels: 96 #12

Nuclear

Nuclear warheads: 0

Compare with…

Others in the region

3China93.9 VS
6Korea, Dem. People's Rep.79.4 VS
11Japan73.7 VS
17Viet Nam69.4 VS
22Thailand67.5 VS
23Indonesia67.4 VS
25Myanmar66.4 VS
26Singapore65.8 VS

Source

Budget, GDP, population and personnel: World Bank open data (SIPRI / IISS based). (Defence budget: 2025)

IISS Military Balance via Wikipedia (personnel); Global Firepower 2026 inventory lists (equipment) · Year 2026 · ↗