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NATIONAL FORCES · COMPARISON
Laos vs Thailand
| Overview | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
Active personnel DefinitionFull-time active military personnel; exclude reserves and paramilitary unless explicitly identified. | 29,100Estimate · people · November 2025 IISS assessmentSingle sourceNational full-time active military personnel; the separately reported reserve, gendarmerie and paramilitary totals are excluded. | 360,850Estimate · people · 2026 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceFull-time active military personnel in the 2026 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Excludes the separately reported Reserve military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date or a 2026 headcount. |
Armed forces personnel DefinitionActive-duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces whose training, organisation, equipment and control allow them to support or replace regular forces. This is not an active-regular-only count. | 129,000people · 2020 annual observationSingle source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. | 455,000people · 2020 annual observationSingle source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. |
Defence spending DefinitionAnnual military expenditure in current US dollars. State fiscal year, coverage and conversion basis in notes. | US$22.68mUSD · 2013 annual observationSingle source2013 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders. | US$5.91bnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS defence budget forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceSource-reported annual official defence budget/appropriation in current US dollars; it is a budget figure, not an assertion of final expenditure or readiness. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 5.91bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. |
GDP DefinitionAnnual nominal GDP in current US dollars, not purchasing-power parity. | US$17.8bnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS nominal GDP forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceAnnual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 17.8bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. | US$562bnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS nominal GDP forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceAnnual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 562bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. |
Population DefinitionTotal resident population; retain the source's reference year. | 7,873,046people · 2025 annual observationSingle source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. | 71,619,863people · 2025 annual observationSingle source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. |
Reserve personnel DefinitionReported reserve personnel, with mobilisation and training definitions stated in notes. | 0Estimate · people · 2024 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceMilitary reserve personnel in the 2024 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Reservists are not normally kept under arms and are available for mobilisation. Excludes the separately reported Active military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date. | 200,000Estimate · people · 2026 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceMilitary reserve personnel in the 2026 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Reservists are not normally kept under arms and are available for mobilisation. Excludes the separately reported Active military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date. |
Combat aircraft DefinitionIn-service fixed-wing combat aircraft; exclude stored, retired and ordered aircraft. In service does not establish readiness. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Main battle tanks DefinitionIn-service main battle tanks; exclude storage and orders. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Major surface combatants DefinitionCommissioned cruisers, destroyers and frigates. Exclude patrol craft and support vessels. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Nuclear warheads DefinitionWarheads in the military stockpile, deployed or in reserve; exclude retired warheads awaiting dismantlement. Independent estimates, labelled as such. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Submarines DefinitionCommissioned submarines; exclude vessels on order and decommissioned vessels. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
Transport aircraft DefinitionIn-service dedicated fixed-wing military transport aircraft; exclude trainers and orders. | —Not yet documented | —Not yet documented |
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
404 matching equipment types
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | ||
| F-16 Fighting Falcon | — | 472024 |
| Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker | — | 6Gendarmerie & Paramilitary · 2025 12Royal Thai Air Force · 2025 |
| KAI T-50 Golden Eagle | — | 14Royal Thai Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Northrop F-5 | — | 13Royal Thai Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Saab JAS 39 Gripen | — | 11Royal Thai Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Support aircraft | ||
| Airbus A319 | — | 1Air Force · 2025 1Royal Thai Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Airbus A320 family | — | 2Royal Thai Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Airbus A340 | — | 1Air Force · 2025 1Royal Thai Air Force · 2025 |
| Antonov An-26 | 1Air Force · 2025 1Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia | — |
| ATR 72 | — | 6Royal Thai Air Force · 2023Wikipedia |
| Basler BT-67 | — | 8Air Force · 2025 8Royal Thai Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Beechcraft King Air | — | 22024 |
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Tanks | ||
| FV101 Scorpion | — | 154Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| M41 Walker Bulldog | — | 24Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| M48 Patton | — | 105Army · 2025 105Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| M60 tank | — | 178Army · 2025 178Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| PT-76 | 10Army · 2025 | — |
| Stingray light tank | — | 106Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| T-54/T-55 | 15Army · 2025 | — |
| T-72 | 502020Wikipedia | — |
| T-84 | — | 49Army · 2025 49Royal Thai Army · 2026Wikipedia |
| VT-4 | — | 62Army · 2025 62Royal Thai Army · 2025 |
| Armoured vehicles | ||
| Alvis Saracen | — | In service |
| Assault Amphibious Vehicle | — | 33Marines · 2025 |
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Air defence | ||
| 9K35 Strela-10 | In service | — |
| Artemis 30 | — | 8Royal Thai Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| DARDO | — | In service |
| HN-5 | — | In service |
| HQ-12 | — | 2Royal Thai Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| M163 VADS | — | 24Army · 2025 |
| M167 VADS | — | 24Army · 2025 |
| M42 Duster | — | In service |
| Mistral (missile) | — | In service |
| Phalanx CIWS | — | In service |
| RIM-162 ESSM | — | In service |
| S-125 Neva/Pechora | In service | — |
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Small arms | ||
| 9A-91 | In service | — |
| Accuracy International AW50 | — | In service |
| AK-102 | — | In service |
| AK-104 | — | In service |
| AK-12 | In service | — |
| AK-47 | In service | — |
| AK-74 | In service | — |
| AKM | In service | — |
| AMD-65 | In service | — |
| Barrett M82 | — | In service |
| Barrett M95 | — | In service |
| Benelli Supernova | — | In service |
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Remote weapon stations | ||
| Protector RWS | — | In service |
| Equipment | Laos | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Radar & sensors | ||
| AN/FPS-117 | — | In service |
| AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar | — | In service |
| EL/M-2106 | — | In service |
| Flycatcher (radar) | — | In service |
| SLC-2 Radar | — | In service |
| TRML | — | In service |
| Communications & electronic warfare | ||
| AN/PRC-77 Portable Transceiver | — | In service |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 8,052,913 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
A shared land boundary is represented in the Natural Earth dataset. Approximate separation between the dataset’s country label points: 500 km.
Generalized geography from Natural Earth 1:110m, version 5.1.1. Label-point distance is calculated on a sphere and rounded to the nearest 100 km; it is not a capital-to-capital distance, route, border distance or operational range. Dataset boundaries do not imply recognition of territorial claims.
Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:110m, v5.1.1 · Public domain · Research catalogue highlighted
Scores out of 100 on the ForceTally Index. Each bar splits in proportion to the two scores. A point at the centre of the chart means no sourced figure for that part.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 70,025,248 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |