Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 186
- Armored vehicles
- 6,344
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0
- Towed artillery
- 347
- MLRS
- 151
2026 military profile
Nicaragua Military Power
North America · Rank #84 of 145
1.5Strength Scoreout of 100 — #84 globally
How this score is calculatedNicaragua military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, Nicaragua ranks #84 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 1.5/100. The profile reports 45,000 active personnel, 17 total aircraft, 186 tanks and 23 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $1.3B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Army (3/100); 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
- #6 of 11
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
45,000
↓72% vs avg
Reserve troops
0
Total aircraft
17
↓95% vs avg
Naval assets
23
↓51% vs avg
Defense budget
$1.3B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in North America
#6
of 11 profiles
Population
7,007,502
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$22.2B
World Bank 2025
Land area
120,340 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$187.171
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
6.42
population-normalized
Regional medians
52,225 troops
45 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 17
- Fighters
- 0
- Attack aircraft
- 0
- Transport aircraft
- 5
- Helicopters
- 12
- Attack helicopters
- 0
Navy
- Total vessels
- 23
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Destroyers
- 0
- Submarines
- 0
- Frigates
- 0
- Patrol vessels
- 23
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)1/100
Army (15% weight)3/100
Financial (15% weight)2/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare Nicaragua
Nicaragua military power FAQ
What is Nicaragua's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks Nicaragua #84 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are Nicaragua's armed forces?
The current profile reports 45,000 active personnel, 0 reserve personnel and 5,500 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean Nicaragua 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.