From Bhutan To Myanmar: Top 7 Asian Countries With Weakest Militaries
Several Asian Countries have relatively weaker militaries due to small populations, low budget, outdated equipment, and geographic limitations. Nations like Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, and Tajikistan prioritize diplomacy over buildup, while Cambodia and Myanmar face internal challenges and limited modernization. Mongolia struggles with its vast land area and low population, restricting defense expansion. These countries rank lower in global indices like Global Firepower and Asia Power Index compared to regional powers such as China, India, and Japan. Despite their weakness, many rely on alliances and peaceful strategies to maintain stability within their regions.
Bhutan
Bhutan ranks among the bottom in Asia in military strength largely due to its small population, peaceful foreign policy, extremely small defense budget (around USD- 14-25 million in recent years), and and minimal armed forces. According to Global Firepower, Bhutan has minimal equipment, almost no navy, few aircraft, and relies heavily on diplomacy and treaties for its security.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan is often cited as one of Central Asia's weakest militaries. It ranks around 108th of 145 in the Global Firepower Index. it has small active personnel numbers, limited ariel assets, few tanks, and modest military budget (hundreds of millions, not billions). Terrain and economic constraints limit its ability to maintain a large, well-equipped force.
Nepal
Although Nepal has made defense network improvements, its military capability remains modest compared to major Asian powers. In the Asia Power Index 2024, Nepal ranks 25th out of 27 Asian countries, scoring low on resilience and faced with limited resources and infrastructure. Their armed forces are small, lacking naval presence, and their budgets are lower than larger neighbors.
Laos
Laos is among Southeast Asia’s weaker military powers. Under Global Firepower, it has one of the higher Power Index scores (lower strength) compared to its neighbors, limited air force assets, minimal naval presence, and very low military spending. Geography (landlocked) also limits its ability to project power.
Cambodia
Cambodia has more sustainable active personnel than some others on this list, but its military strength is constrained by outdated equipment, limited air force capacity (especially modern combat jets), and relatively low military expenditure. Within Southeast Asia, it’s ranked near the bottom in terms of power index among its regional peers.
Mongolia
Mongolia's military is modest-active personnel numbers are small (-35,000), defense spending is low, and its geographic situation (large land area, low population) plus economic constraints make it difficult to maintain high-end military capability. It has few naval assets (in fact none due to being landlocked), modest air force and ground equipment.
Myanmar
Myanmar is a special case: political and logistical challenges, sanctions, resource constraints, and internal conflicts have greatly handicapped its military’s effectiveness (even if its size may be moderate). Corruption, outdated equipment, and supply issues reduce operational quality. In international rankings and indices, it scores low on resilience, equipment modernization, and training capabilities.
Disclaimer
The information provided is just for informational and general knowledge purposes only.
