Side-by-side military and economic comparison. White/black is Iran, red is South Korea.
🇮🇷 Iran
🇰🇷 South Korea
Active Conflicts
2026 Iran War
10,000+ deaths
None tracked
Fleet Modernity — Quality, Not Just Count
MIXED
✈️ Air Fleet
MODERN
MIXED
🛡️ Armor Fleet
MODERN
LIKELY AGING
⚓ Naval Fleet
LIKELY MIXED
Leads More Categories
★ South Korea
Iran wins 2 of 6 · South Korea wins 3 of 6
Manpower
★ Iran
Financials
★ South Korea
Airpower
★ South Korea
Land Power
★ Iran
Naval Power
★ South Korea
Strategic
Tied
Manpower
★ 88,000,000
👥 Total Population
52,000,000
★ 610,000
🪖 Active Personnel
555,000
350,000
🎖️ Reserve Personnel
3,100,000 ★
★ 190,000
👮 Paramilitary Forces
n/a
Financials
$20B
💰 Defense Budget
$48B ★
$400B
📈 GDP (Nominal)
$1,900B ★
Airpower
551
✈️ Total Aircraft
1,590 ★
186
🛩️ Fighter Aircraft
400 ★
365
🛫 Bombers & Other Aircraft
1,190 ★
★ 129
🚁 Helicopters (Total)
n/a
Land Power
1,996
🛡️ Tank Strength
2,500 ★
★ 4,071
🚚 Armored Vehicles
n/a
★ 2,050
💥 Towed Artillery
n/a
Naval Power
110
⚓ Fleet Strength
230 ★
19
🌊 Submarines
22 ★
0
🛳️ Aircraft Carriers
0
Strategic
None declared
☢️ Nuclear Warheads
None declared
Figures are educated estimates or formula-modeled, not sourced intelligence. Team totals are simple sums. Want a different matchup? Use the interactive Compare tool.