Firepower Across Arab States

On March 26, 2015, a Saudi-led coalition began a bombing compaign in Yemen targeting the Houthis and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels there "withdraw and surrender their weapons," a summit of Arab leaders decided on Sunday, March 28. The leaders also agreed in principle to form a joint military force, putting the Arab League on a path to potentially more aggresively challenge Shiite power in Iran, which is reportedly backing the Yemeni rebels.

• Saudi Arabia has the largest military budget among the Arab states. In 2013, it was $56 billion, compared to $14 billion for the UAE, $6 billion each for Iran and Iraq, and only $1 billion for Yemen.
• The military forces of Saudi Arabia are ranked third by overall firepower in the Arab world. 

In today's Viz of the Day, you can review detailed information about the military forces of Arab states and compare countries' firepower according to the number of the ground-based systems or air forces, or naval strength. 

Souce: Global Firepower, 2014