Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 203
- Armored vehicles
- 87,364
- Self-propelled artillery
- 64
- Towed artillery
- 108
- MLRS
- 21
2026 military profile
Italy Military Power
Europe · Rank #27 of 145
7.9Strength Scoreout of 100 — #27 globally
How this score is calculatedItaly military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, Italy ranks #27 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 7.9/100. The profile reports 165,500 active personnel, 714 total aircraft, 203 tanks and 52 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $37.3B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Navy (14/100); its lowest is Nuclear (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
- #8 of 41
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
165,500
↑2% vs avg
Reserve troops
18,300
Total aircraft
714
↑99% vs avg
Naval assets
52
↑11% vs avg
Defense budget
$37.3B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Europe
#8
of 41 profiles
Population
58,915,656
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$2.6T
World Bank 2025
Land area
295,720 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$633.536
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
2.81
population-normalized
Regional medians
25,600 troops
104 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 714
- Fighters
- 88
- Attack aircraft
- 65
- Transport aircraft
- 209
- Helicopters
- 352
- Attack helicopters
- 37
Navy
- Total vessels
- 52
- Aircraft carriers
- 2
- Destroyers
- 3
- Submarines
- 8
- Frigates
- 14
- Patrol vessels
- 15
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)4/100
Air Force (20% weight)5/100
Navy (15% weight)14/100
Army (15% weight)8/100
Financial (15% weight)4/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare Italy
Italy military power FAQ
What is Italy's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks Italy #27 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are Italy's armed forces?
The current profile reports 165,500 active personnel, 18,300 reserve personnel and 105,000 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean Italy 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.