Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 0
- Armored vehicles
- 2,144
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0
- Towed artillery
- 76
- MLRS
- 0
2026 military profile
El Salvador Military Power
North America · Rank #116 of 145
0.7Strength Scoreout of 100 — #116 globally
How this score is calculatedEl Salvador military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, El Salvador ranks #116 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 0.7/100. The profile reports 25,000 active personnel, 51 total aircraft, 0 tanks and 8 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $1.0B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Manpower (1/100); its lowest is Air Force (0/100). These are relative inventory scores, not assessments of readiness or combat effectiveness.
Profile scope
- Data edition
- 2026
- Indicators
- 29 fields
- Country set
- 145
- Regional rank
- #9 of 11
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
25,000
↓85% vs avg
Reserve troops
0
Total aircraft
51
↓86% vs avg
Naval assets
8
↓83% vs avg
Defense budget
$1.0B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in North America
#9
of 11 profiles
Population
6,365,503
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$36.7B
World Bank 2025
Land area
20,720 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$162.941
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
3.93
population-normalized
Regional medians
52,225 troops
45 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 51
- Fighters
- 0
- Attack aircraft
- 15
- Transport aircraft
- 8
- Helicopters
- 28
- Attack helicopters
- 0
Navy
- Total vessels
- 8
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Destroyers
- 0
- Submarines
- 0
- Frigates
- 0
- Patrol vessels
- 8
MSS category profile
Normalized against the largest value in the 2026 country set. The listed weight is each category's contribution to the overall score.
Manpower (25% weight)1/100
Air Force (20% weight)0/100
Navy (15% weight)0/100
Army (15% weight)0/100
Financial (15% weight)1/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare El Salvador
El Salvador military power FAQ
What is El Salvador's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks El Salvador #116 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are El Salvador's armed forces?
The current profile reports 25,000 active personnel, 0 reserve personnel and 15,000 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean El Salvador would win a war?
No. MSS summarizes selected inventory and spending figures. It does not model readiness, training, geography, alliances, logistics, doctrine, technology quality or political objectives.