Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 1,831
- Armored vehicles
- 117,460
- Self-propelled artillery
- 2,780
- Towed artillery
- 5,800
- MLRS
- 525
2026 military profile
South Korea Military Power
Asia · Rank #6 of 145
27.2Strength Scoreout of 100 — #6 globally
How this score is calculatedSouth Korea military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, South Korea ranks #6 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 27.2/100. The profile reports 450,000 active personnel, 1,540 total aircraft, 1,831 tanks and 169 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $44.8B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Army (46/100); 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
- #4 of 29
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
450,000
↑177% vs avg
Reserve troops
3,100,000
Total aircraft
1,540
↑329% vs avg
Naval assets
169
↑260% vs avg
Defense budget
$44.8B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Asia
#4
of 29 profiles
Population
51,684,564
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$1.9T
World Bank 2025
Land area
97,600 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$866.797
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
8.71
population-normalized
Regional medians
150,000 troops
168 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 1,540
- Fighters
- 242
- Attack aircraft
- 98
- Transport aircraft
- 373
- Helicopters
- 827
- Attack helicopters
- 113
Navy
- Total vessels
- 169
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Destroyers
- 14
- Submarines
- 22
- Frigates
- 18
- Patrol vessels
- 96
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)30/100
Air Force (20% weight)12/100
Navy (15% weight)24/100
Army (15% weight)46/100
Financial (15% weight)5/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Related MilitaryDex records
Selected equipment originating in South Korea
Selected bases operated by South Korea
No installation from the curated bases collection is linked to this country.
Browse all selected basesCompare South Korea
South Korea military power FAQ
What is South Korea's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks South Korea #6 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are South Korea's armed forces?
The current profile reports 450,000 active personnel, 3,100,000 reserve personnel and 120,000 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean South Korea 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.