Military profile
Pakistan Military Strength
Pakistan ranks #7 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 654,000 active personnel. It spent $11.9 billion on its military in 2025 (2.9% of GDP).
Pakistan armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 654,000#6 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 550,000#8 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 500,000#6 of 145
- Army personnel
- 1,301,500#3 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 80,000#8 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 54,100#11 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 1,413#7 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 363#7 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 90#7 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 322#11 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 58#10 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 3,742#8 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 1,225#7 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 3,345#4 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 1,838#4 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 2#14 of 113
- Frigates
- 6#27 of 113
- Corvettes
- 2#32 of 113
- Submarines
- 9#12 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 48#18 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 3#38 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $11.9 billion#31 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 2.9%#34 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $1.02 trillion#24 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Pakistan military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Pakistan grew by 99% between 2010 and 2025, from $6.0 billion to $11.9 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 2.9% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Pakistan
Branches and forces
Pakistan Armed Forces: Pakistan Army (includes National Guard), Pakistan Navy (includes Pakistan Marines, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency), Pakistan Air Force Ministry of Interior: Frontier Constabulary, Frontier Corps, National Police, Pakistan Coast Guard, Punjab (Pakistan) Rangers, Sindh (Pakistan) Rangers (2025)
Personnel
approximately 650,000 active Armed Forces (2025)
Service age and conscription
16-28 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; lower and upper age limits vary by military branch, position, and role; personnel cannot be deployed for combat until age 18 (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the military's inventory is a mix of mostly imported and some domestically produced armaments; the majority of its imported weapons are from China; other suppliers include France, Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, the UK, and the US; Pakistan also has a domestic defense industry, which produces or co-produces such items as armored vehicles, aircraft, missiles, naval vessels (2025)
Deployments abroad
1,400 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 300 MONUSCO; 300 South Sudan (UNMISS); 575 Sudan (UNISFA) (2025)
Good to know
the Pakistan military is responsible for external defense but also has a domestic security role; its chief external focus is India; the military is the lead security agency in many areas of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and has for decades conducted operations against various internal militant groups; it is also one of the longest serving and largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions; China is its closest security partner the military operates largely independently and without effective civilian oversight; it has ruled the country for more than 30 years since independence in 1947 and continues to play a significant role in Pakistan's political arena; it also has a large stake in the country’s economic sector and is involved in a diverse array of commercial activities, including banking, construction of public projects, employment services, energy and power generation, fertilizer, food, housing, real estate, and security services Pakistan has fought four wars and several skirmishes with India; three of the wars have been over the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, the status of which has been unsettled since the UK's 1947 withdrawal and the partition and independence of India and Pakistan; a fragile cease-fire was reached in 2003, revised in 2018, and reaffirmed in 2021, although the militarized Line of Control which serves as the border remains contested, and India has accused Pakistan of backing armed separatists and terrorist organizations in the territory New Delhi controls; in the Spring of 2025, Indian held Pakistan responsible for a terrorist attack in India-controlled Kashmir and retaliated, sparking a brief cross-border conflict involving aircraft, artillery, drone, and missile strikes the Kashmir dispute also includes the Siachen Glacier, located in the Karakoram Mountain Range, which was seized by India in 1984 with Pakistan attempting to retake the area several times between 1985 and 1995; despite the 2003 cease-fire, both sides continue to maintain a permanent military presence there with outposts at altitudes above 20,000 feet (over 6,000 meters) where most casualties are due to extreme weather and the hazards of operating in the high mountain terrain of the world’s highest conflict, including avalanches, exposure, and altitude sickness (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 2.5% · 2023: 3% · 2022: 4% · 2021: 4% · 2020: 4%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Pakistan compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | #7 | $11.9 billion |
 India | #4 | $92.1 billion |
 Afghanistan | #114 | $278 million |
 Iran | #17 | $7.4 billion |
 China | #3 | $335.5 billion |