Country Profile
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Iran
Composite power index · percentile among 118 scored countries#11
WEAKESTP25MEDIANP75STRONGEST
Figures are educated estimates from open reporting or, where marked, formula-modeled. Blank fields are not estimated, not assumed zero.
Overview
Iran is located in Asia (Southern Asia). It has an estimated population of 88,000,000, with a nominal GDP of roughly $400 billion (about $4,545 per capita). Its armed forces field an estimated 610,000 active-duty personnel, backed by roughly 350,000 reservists, ranking #8 of 174 countries in this dataset by active personnel. Estimated annual defense spending is around $20B, roughly 5.0% of GDP. Its inventory includes an estimated 551 military aircraft, 1,996 tanks, 110 naval vessels. Iran's air fleet is assessed as mixed and its armored fleet as mixed in this dataset's modernity model. Iran has a advanced-tier documented drone/UAV program. Overall, Iran ranks #16 of 145 in the military strength index referenced by this dataset.
Auto-generated from the figures on this page — not independently researched prose.
Global Standing percentile per metric
Active Conflicts
2026 Iran War
Middle East · US/Israel vs. Iran, began Feb 2026
10,000
est. deaths
A 2026 conflict following coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear, missile and military leadership infrastructure, with retaliatory strikes across the Gulf. Casualty and leadership-impact claims are heavily contested; treat specific claims from any single side with caution.
SRC: aggregated open-source reporting, contested
Historical Conflicts in this dataset
Syrian Civil War (peak years)
2011–2020 · Middle East · uprising, multi-sided civil war, foreign intervention
580,000
est. deaths
What began as an uprising against the Assad government became a multi-sided war drawing in ISIS, Kurdish forces, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and the US-led coalition.
SRC: SOHR / UN estimate, widely-cited
Iran–Pakistan Cross-Border Strikes
2024–2024 · Asia · rare direct state-on-state strikes, de-escalated within days
11
est. deaths
Iran struck alleged Baloch militant camps inside Pakistan; Pakistan retaliated two days later with strikes inside Iran. A rare direct military exchange between the two states, it de-escalated quickly through diplomacy.
SRC: Wikipedia / BBC / Al Jazeera aggregation
Share of World
of world population
88,000,000 people
of world GDP
$400B nominal
of world defense spending
$20B / year
of world active personnel
610,000 soldiers
Economy & Demographics
Manpower
Force Composition1,150,000 total personnel
Active 53%Reserve 30%Paramilitary 17%
Financials & Strategic
Defense burden: 5.0% of GDP
Spend per active soldier: $33k / yr
Soldiers per 1,000 people: 6.9
🛰️Drone / UAV Capability
Advanced
Airpower
✈️Air Fleet Modernity
MIXEDModernity score 3.1/5.0
Named Aircraft Fleet (195 of 551 total)
ESTIMATED
F-14 Tomcat (1970s, ~40 flyable) GEN 4 · MAINSTAY
40
MiG-29 GEN 4 · MAINSTAY
35
F-4 Phantom (legacy) GEN 3 · AGING
60
F-5 (legacy) GEN 2 · OBSOLETE
60
Fleet Modernity Score
3.1 / 5.0
Count-weighted average generation of the named fleet above, NOT raw aircraft count. This is exactly the fix for "600 obsolete jets vs. 300 modern ones": North Korea has more aircraft than most of its neighbors but a modernity score near 2.0 (nearly all Gen 2-3), while the US and Israel score near 4.5-5.0 despite smaller headline totals in some matchups.
Land Power
🛡️Armor Fleet Modernity
MIXEDCount-weighted era of the named fleet
Named Tank Fleet (780 of 1,996 total)
ESTIMATED
Zulfiqar (indigenous) DATED
150
T-72 (legacy) DATED
480
Chieftain/M60 (legacy) OBSOLETE
150
Era reflects armor generation, not raw count — e.g. North Korea's tank fleet is numerically large but almost entirely Cold War-era T-55/T-62 derivatives, while a much smaller modern Advanced-era fleet (M1A2 Abrams, Leopard 2A7, K2 Black Panther class) typically outmatches it on paper.
Naval Power
⚓Naval Fleet Modernity
LIKELY AGINGHeuristic: defense spend per soldier, not a fleet inspection
Regional Context — Southern Asia
Iran ranks #2 of 7 in Southern Asia on the composite power index. Bars are relative index scores; follow any row to that country's profile.
Compare Iran 18 matchups
Iran vs United StatesIran vs RussiaIran vs ChinaIran vs IndiaIran vs South KoreaIran vs North KoreaIran vs JapanIran vs TürkiyeIran vs Saudi ArabiaIran vs PakistanIran vs EgyptIran vs GermanyIran vs VietnamIran vs FranceIran vs United KingdomIran vs United Arab EmiratesIran vs IsraelIran vs Ukraine
Want a matchup not listed — or Iran against a whole coalition? Open the Alliance Builder to pick any countries and stack multiple against one.
Economic confidence: Low. Military confidence: Low. Ranks shown as "#x of y" count only countries with a reported value for that metric. The composite power index averages the six category scores (log-scaled against the world leader per metric) and is this site's own model — not an official rating.