Manpower Mismatch: India Can Field 5.1 M Troops—Triple Pakistan’s 1.7 M

Recent tourist killings have sparked a conflict between two major military powers in the Indian subcontinent of Asia. India and Pakistan have come to blows yet again, but this time the stakes are higher than ever before. Both of these nations have nuclear capabilities with the potential to do unchecked damage. These two nations have […] The post Manpower Mismatch: India Can Field 5.1 M Troops—Triple Pakistan’s 1.7 M appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

May 7, 2025 - 17:24

Manpower Mismatch: India Can Field 5.1 M Troops—Triple Pakistan’s 1.7 M

Key Points

Recent tourist killings have ignited a historic conflict between India and Pakistan
Both of these nations have nuclear arms making this conflict potentially devastating should it continue to evolve
Historically, these two nations have fought over the Kashmir region but these most recent attacks do not seem to be based on territorial acquisition
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Recent tourist killings have sparked a conflict between two major military powers in the Indian subcontinent of Asia. India and Pakistan have come to blows yet again, but this time the stakes are higher than ever before. Both of these nations have nuclear capabilities with the potential to do unchecked damage.

These two nations have a long history of territorial disputes over Kashmir but for the most part these have been largely isolated to that region. The question remains after these most recent attacks how this conflict will evolve or will these two nations find peace. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at how India and Pakistan stack up if this conflict should continue.

To compare India and Pakistan, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We included multiple factors in the comparison across different fields ranging from economics, land power, air power, and naval power, as well as a few others to give a full picture to how these countries measure up.

Here is a look at how India and Pakistan compare on these fronts:

Why Are We Covering This?

Silhouette of a military man in headphones at a laptop against the background of a digital globe of the earth, contour lighting. Concept: collection of confidential information, surveillance.

In this rapidly evolving world, the comparison of military power between countries serves as a measure of global stability. This analysis is important not just for understanding each nation’s defense capabilities, but also should an offensive conflict arise. While superpowers like the United States, China, and Russia dominate headlines with their military resources, other nations also play important roles in regional security dynamics and geopolitical relations. This analysis seeks to understand these countries from a base level of assets, resources, manpower, and economics.

India Financials

Purchasing power parity: $13,104,000,000,000
Foreign exchange reserves and gold: $627,793,000,000
Defense budget: $75,000,000,000 – #4 out of 145
External debt: 371,020,500,000

Pakistan Financials

close up waving flag of Pakistan. flag symbols of Pakistan.

Purchasing power parity: $1,347,000,000,000
Foreign exchange reserves and gold: $13,730,000,000
Defense budget: $7,640,000,000 – #38 out of 145
External debt: 92,426,000,000

India Population

Rural indian woman talking on mobile phone standing at agriculture field, happy Village of india. Use of wireless technology, Telecom industry. Communication device. Cell phone.