Which country - Saudi Arabia or Ireland - is military stronger? As it’s known, the basic components, which form the army strength and the state’s defense capability, are a) people b) money c) weapon. Let’s address each aspect.
● Which army is numerically bigger?
● Where is the military spending higher?
● Let’s compare the armies of Saudi Arabia and Ireland by the combat power.
The armies’ comparison by the size
The army size directly depends on the country’s population and its mobilization potential. In the table below there is the information about human resources, mobilization potential and armed forces size of Saudi Arabia and Ireland in 2025.
| Indicator | Saudi Arabia | Ireland |
| The country’s population size | 34,57 million people | 5,31 million people |
| The number of citizens who are potentially fit for military service | 17 468 000 people | 1 999 000 people |
| The number of citizens who yearly reach military service age | 611 000 people | 58 600 people |
| The army size | 257 000 people | 7765 people |
ТThus, Saudi Arabia leaves behind Ireland by the number of soldiers in the service and by its mobilization potential.
Let’s note that the above mentioned data show only the quantitative characteristics without taking into account the professional level of military personnel and the quality (basic skills, physical condition, etc.) of the mobilized and conscripts.
It’s more difficult to estimate such parameters as motivation, combat spirit and soldier’s steadfastness, the ability and wish to perform their duties up to the end.
The comparison of military budgets up↑
The military financing greatly depends on the country’s wealth – the stronger the economy is developed, the more finance can be allocated for the military expenses. As for the economy size, Saudi Arabia with its GDP of 2109 billion dollars (which was calculated by purchasing power parity) surpasses Ireland with its GDP of 702 billion dollars in times.
Saudi Arabia and Ireland send 3,55 % and 0,21 % of GDP to the military expenses, respectively. As a result, the military budget of Saudi Arabia is 74.8 billion dollars and of Ireland is 1.5 billion dollars.
Hence, the military expenses of Saudi Arabia are times higher than in Ireland.
The comparison of armament up↑
In the table below there is the information about some types of armament which are at the disposal of Saudi Arabia and Ireland (we account the total amount of weapons in 2025, without considering modifications, the year of release and departmental affiliation):
| The types of armament | Saudi Arabia | Ireland |
| Planes | 917 | 22 |
| Military helicopters | 264 | 8 |
The comparison by the combat power index up↑
While contrasting the armed forces of Saudi Arabia and Ireland one can orient on military strength ranking from GlobalFirepower (GFP). The GFP experts have analyzed more than 60 different factors which affect the defense ability of different countries and the effectiveness of their armed forces. As a result, they have calculated the combat power index. The lower it is, the stronger in the military sense the country is.
As of 2024, the countries under consideration take the following positions in GlobalFirepower rating:
● Saudi Arabia - 24 position in the world according to the combat power index 0.4201; ● Ireland - 97 position in the world according to the combat power index 2.1103; Thus, according to the GlobalFirepower, the more combat-ready are the armed forces of Saudi Arabia. Do you want to compare other countries? Fill them in the proper gaps and chose the criteria for comparison:
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