The most numerous army. Rating of the most powerful armies in the world (According to Globalfirepower)
A powerful and combat-ready army is the key to a country’s significant weight in the international arena. Moreover, in connection with the well-known events in Syria and Ukraine, the closest attention is increasingly being paid to the military power of different countries. Many people ask the question: “Who will win the world war?”
Today we present an annually updated, official ranking of the world's armies, a list that includes the most powerful armies in the world in 2016.
Rating of the most powerful armies in the world (According to Globalfirepower) The top 10 was compiled according to the specialized resource Globalfirepower. When compiling the rating, the size of the world's armies, weapons, military budget, resource availability and logistics are compared. Experts did not take into account nuclear potential. By the way, San Marino has the weakest army in the world in 2016 - only 80 people.
10. South Korea
The Korean army is the third largest in Asia - 630 thousand troops. The country has a very high number of military personnel per thousand inhabitants - 14.2 people. Korea's defense budget is $33.7 billion.
9. Germany
The country's military budget is $45 billion. The number of German armed forces is 186,500 people. The German army is completely professional, i.e. There has been no compulsory conscription in the country since 2011.
8. Türkiye
The Turkish army is the best in the Middle East. The number of the country's armed forces is 510,000 people. Turkey's military budget is $18 billion. There are just over 7 military personnel per thousand residents of the country.
7. Japan
The Japanese Army opens our list of the best. The combat-ready part of the army numbers 247 thousand military personnel. With such a large armed force, the country has a simply huge defense budget - $49 billion.
6. UK
The country's military budget is $53 billion. The size of the British armed forces is 188,000 military personnel - this is the smallest army in the ranking. But the Royal Navy of Britain is the second in the world in terms of tonnage.
5. France
Opens a list of the 5 most powerful armies in the world. The country's military budget is $43 billion. The number of French armed forces is 222,000 people. The key to the combat effectiveness of this army is the presence in it of a full range of weapons of its own production, from warships to helicopters and small arms.
4. India
The country's military budget is $46 billion. The number of Indian armed forces is 1,346,000 people, the country's army is the third largest in the world.
3. China
The largest army in the world ranking is the Chinese army, numbering 2,333,000 troops. Wikipedia shows that there are 1.71 military personnel per 1,000 inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. China's military budget is $126 billion.
2. Russia
The Russian armed forces are superior to almost all armies of the world in terms of weapons power in all branches of the military - air, ground and sea. The size of the Russian army in 2016 is 798,000 people. Military budget - $76 billion. Among the superpowers, Russia has a very high rate of the number of military personnel per 1000 inhabitants - 5.3 people.
The Russian army is among the top three strongest in the world; in the Credit Suisse rating, the Russian military is rated along with the armies of China and the United States. What is the real balance of power among states ready for military conflicts?Medialeaks publishes a list of the 20 most powerful armies in the world according to the organization.
At the end of September, the financial organization published a report in which it indicated the TOP 20 most powerful armies in the world. Based on this graph, our publication made a detailed list and added its comments.
When compiling the rating, such parameters as the budget, army size, number of tanks, aircraft, combat helicopters, aircraft carriers and submarines, and partly the presence of nuclear weapons were taken into account. The technical level of weapons influenced the position on the list to a lesser extent, and the real combat capability of a particular army was practically not assessed.
Thus, assessing the situation of some countries may raise questions. Let's say the Israeli army is inferior to Egypt by two positions, mainly due to the number of soldiers and tanks. However, in all clashes, the first won an unconditional victory over the second, despite the numerical superiority.
It is interesting to note that no Latin American countries were included in the list. For example, despite the size of the population and economy, Brazil's military doctrine does not involve serious external or internal threats, so military spending in this country amounts to only about 1% of GDP.
It is also somewhat strange that the list did not include Iran with its half a million soldiers, one and a half thousand tanks and 300 combat aircraft.
20. Canada
Budget: $15.7 billion
Number of active army: 22 thousand.
Tanks: 181
Aviation: 420
Submarines: 4
The Canadian Army is at the bottom of the list: it does not have as many numbers and does not have as much military equipment. Be that as it may, the Canadian military takes an active part in all US operations. In addition, Canada is a participant in the F-35 program.
19. Indonesia
Budget: $6.9 billion
Number of active army: 476 thousand.
Tanks: 468
Aviation: 405
Submarines: 2
Indonesia made the list thanks to its large number of military personnel and the noticeable size of its tank force, but for an island country it lacks naval forces: in particular, it has no aircraft carriers and only two diesel submarines.
18. Germany
Budget: $40.2 billion
Number of active army: 179 thousand.
Tanks: 408
Aviation: 663
Submarines: 4
After World War II, Germany did not have its own army for 10 years. During the confrontation between the West and the USSR, the Bundeswehr numbered up to half a million people, but after unification, the country's authorities abandoned the doctrine of confrontation and sharply reduced investments in defense. Apparently, this is why the German Armed Forces ended up even behind Poland in the Credit Suisse rating. At the same time, Berlin is actively sponsoring its eastern NATO allies.
17. Poland
Budget: $9.4 billion
Number of active army: 120 thousand.
Tanks: 1,009
Aviation: 467
Submarines: 5
Poland was ahead of its western neighbor in military power due to its greater number of tanks and submarines, although for the last 300 years the Polish Army has lost in most military conflicts. Be that as it may, Warsaw increased spending on the army after the annexation of Crimea to Russia and the outbreak of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
16. Thailand
Budget: $5.4 billion
Number of active army: 306 thousand.
Tanks: 722
Aviation: 573
Submarines: 0
The Thai army has been in control of the situation within the country since May 2014; the armed forces are the main guarantee of political stability. It employs a significant number of people and has a large number of modern tanks and aircraft.
15. Australia
Budget: $26.1 billion
Number of active army: 58 thousand.
Tanks: 59
Aviation: 408
Submarines: 6
Australian military personnel consistently take part in all NATO operations. In accordance with national doctrine, Australia must be able to stand alone against external invasion. The defense forces are formed on a professional basis, the army is well equipped technically, there is a modern fleet and a large number of combat helicopters.
14. Israel
Budget: $17 billion
Number of active army: 160 thousand.
Tanks: 4,170
Aviation: 684
Submarines: 5
Israel is the most underrated participant in the ranking. The IDF won all the conflicts in which it participated, and sometimes the Israelis had to fight on several fronts against an enemy many times larger than them. In addition to the huge number of the latest offensive and defensive weapons of its own design, Credit Suisse's analysis does not take into account the fact that the country has several hundred thousand reservists with combat experience and high motivation. The calling card of the IDF is female soldiers who have proven that the weaker sex with a machine gun is no less effective than the stronger. Not to mention the fact that, according to unverified data, Israel has about 80 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
13. Taiwan
Budget: $10.7 billion
Number of active army: 290 thousand.
Tanks: 2,005
Aviation: 804
Submarines: 4
The authorities of the Republic of China believe that they are the legitimate government of the Celestial Empire and sooner or later they must return to Beijing, and until this happens, the army is always ready for the invasion of usurpers from the mainland. And although in reality the island’s armed forces are unlikely to be able to resist the PRC army, two thousand modern tanks and 800 aircraft and helicopters make it a serious force.
12. Egypt
Budget: $4.4 billion
Number of active army: 468 thousand.
Tanks: 4,624
Aviation: 1,107
Submarines: 4
The Egyptian army was ranked due to its numbers and quantity of equipment, although, as the Yom Kippur War showed, even a threefold superiority in tanks is offset by high combat skills and the technical level of weapons. At the same time, it is known that about a thousand “Abrams” of the Egyptian Armed Forces are simply mothballed in warehouses. Nevertheless, Cairo will acquire two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, not supplied by France to the Russian Federation, and about 50 Ka-52 combat helicopters for them, which will make Egypt a truly serious military force in the region.
11. Pakistan
Budget: $7 billion
Number of active army: 617 thousand.
Tanks: 2,924
Aviation: 914
Submarines: 8
The Pakistani army is one of the largest in the world, it has many tanks and aircraft, and the United States supports Islamabad with equipment. The main threat is internal; local leaders and the Taliban rule in hard-to-reach areas of the country. In addition, Pakistan has not reached an agreement on borders with India: the territories of the states of Jammu and Kashmir remain disputed, formally the countries are in a state of conflict, within which they are engaged in an arms race. Pakistan has medium-range ballistic missiles and about a hundred nuclear warheads
10. Türkiye
Budget: $18.2 billion
Number of active army: 410 thousand.
Tanks: 3,778
Aviation: 1,020
Submarines: 13
Türkiye claims to be a regional leader, so it is constantly building up and updating its armed forces. A huge number of tanks, aircraft and a large modern fleet (though without aircraft carriers) allow the Turkish army to be considered the strongest among the Muslim countries of the Middle East.
9. UK
Budget: $60.5 billion
Number of active army: 147 thousand.
Tanks: 407
Aviation: 936
Submarines: 10
After the end of World War II, Great Britain abandoned the idea of military dominance around the world in favor of the United States, but the Royal Armed Forces still have significant power and take part in all NATO operations. Her Majesty's fleet includes several nuclear submarines with strategic nuclear weapons: a total of about 200 warheads. By 2020, the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth is expected to be commissioned, which will be able to carry 40 F-35B fighters.
8. Italy
Budget: $34 billion
Number of active army: 320 thousand.
Tanks: 586
Aviation: 760
Submarines: 6
7. South Korea
Budget: $62.3 billion
Number of active army: 624 thousand.
Tanks: 2,381
Aviation: 1,412
Submarines: 13
South Korea retains numerous armed forces, although in terms of quantitative indicators in everything except aviation, it continues to lose to its main potential enemy, the DPRK. The difference, of course, is in the technological level. Seoul has its own and Western latest developments, Pyongyang has Soviet technology 50 years ago.
6. France
Budget: $62.3 billion
Number of active army: 202 thousand.
Tanks: 423
Aviation: 1,264
Submarines: 10
The French army is still the main military force in Africa and continues to actively intervene in local conflicts. The nuclear attack aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was recently commissioned. Currently, France has approximately 300 strategic nuclear warheads, which are located on nuclear submarines. There are also 60 tactical warheads.
5. India
Budget: $50 billion
Number of active army: 1.325 million
Tanks: 6,464
Aviation: 1,905
Submarines: 15
The third largest army in the world and the fourth largest army in the world. The fact that India has approximately a hundred nuclear warheads, three aircraft carriers and two nuclear submarines in service makes it the fifth most powerful country.
4. Japan
Budget: $41.6 billion
Number of active army: 247 thousand.
Tanks: 678
Aviation: 1,613
Submarines: 16
The most unexpected thing in the ranking is Japan's 4th place, despite the fact that formally the country cannot have an army, but only self-defense forces. Business Insider attributes this to the high level of equipment of Japanese aircraft. In addition, they include 4 helicopter carriers and 9 destroyers. At the same time, Japan does not have nuclear weapons and this, together with the small number of tanks, makes us think that the position of this army is greatly overestimated.
3. China
Budget: $216 billion
Number of active army: 2.33 million
Tanks: 9,150
Aviation: 2,860
Submarines: 67
The second economy in the world has the largest active army, but in terms of the number of tanks, planes and helicopters it is still noticeably inferior not only to the United States, but also to Russia. But the defense budget is 2.5 times greater than the Russian one. As far as is known, China has several hundred nuclear warheads on alert. However, some believe that in reality the PRC may have several thousand warheads, but this information is carefully classified.
2. Russia
Budget: $84.5 billion
Number of active army: 1 million
Tanks: 15,398
Aviation: 3,429
Submarines: 55
Syria has demonstrated once again that Russia rightly continues to hold a solid 2nd place among the strongest, according to Business Insider. The Russian Armed Forces are second only to China in terms of the number of submarines. And if the rumors about China's secret nuclear stockpile are not true, it is far ahead in this area. It is believed that Russia's strategic nuclear forces have about 350 delivery vehicles and about 2 thousand nuclear warheads. The number of tactical nuclear warheads is unknown and could be several thousand.
1. USA
Budget: $601 billion
Number of active army: 1.4 million
Tanks: 8,848
Aviation: 13,892
Submarines: 72
The US military budget is comparable to the previous 19th. The Navy includes 10 aircraft carriers. It is characteristic that, unlike Moscow, which relied on tanks back in Soviet times, Washington is developing combat aviation. In addition, the American authorities, despite the end of the Cold War, continue to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the development of the latest military technologies, thanks to which the United States remains a leader not only in everything related to killing people, but also in the field, for example, robotics and prosthetics.
© Photo from the website of the Ministry of Defense
Military and economic experts regularly determine the global index of military power - the Global Firepower Index. Of course, comparing the armies of the world based on statistical indicators is not an ideal solution, but there is no more objective rating (for example, to test everyone in a real war) yet. The GFP takes into account 66 different indicators: from the geographical location of the country to the degree of industrial development.
A new report for 2018 was released in November. This year, experts analyzed the armed forces of 136 states.
When compiling the Global Firepower Index, not only is a scrupulous count of tanks, aircraft and warships carried out, but also the number of personnel in the army and its reserves, the level of military funding, the country's transport infrastructure, oil production, the size of public debt and even the length of the coastline are taken into account - in a word , all factors that can affect the combat effectiveness of the national army.
The presence of a nuclear arsenal is not taken into account, but states with nuclear weapons receive a “bonus”. The top three - the USA, Russia and China - have remained unchanged for four years.
America has long been ahead of everyone else in military spending. In second place in terms of military budget, also for many years, is China. Russia is in third. The Chinese army is the largest in the world. Russia is the first in the world in the number of tanks.
This is what the top 10 most militarily powerful countries in the world look like in 2018.
10. Germany
Defense budget - $45.2 billion
432 tanks
Aircraft carriers - 0
714 aircraft
The size of the army is 208,640 people.
9. Türkiye
Defense budget - $10.2 billion
2446 tanks
Aircraft carriers - 0
1056 aircraft
Army strength: 710,500
8. Japan
Defense budget - $44 billion
679 tanks
4 helicopter carriers
1508 aircraft
Army strength - 310457
7. South Korea
Defense budget - $40 billion
2654 tanks
1 aircraft carrier
1560 aircraft
Army size - 625,000
6. UK
Prince Harry during his military service. Royal Navy Marine Instagram photo.
Defense budget - $50 billion
227 tanks
2 aircraft carriers
832 aircraft
Army strength: 279,230
5. France
Photo: page French Armed Forces on Facebook.
Defense budget - $40 billion
406 tanks
1305 aircraft
Navy - 118 (1 aircraft carrier and 3 helicopter carriers)
Army strength: 388,635
4. India
Defense budget - $51 billion
4426 tanks
1 aircraft carrier (project 1143 aircraft-carrying cruiser, former Admiral Gorshkov)
2185 aircraft
Army size - 1362500
3. China
Defense budget - $151 billion
7716 tanks
1 aircraft carrier (“Liaoning” - completed “Varyag”)
3035 aircraft
Army size - 2663000
2. Russia
Photo: website of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Defense budget - $47 billion
20300 tanks
3914 aircraft
Navy - 352 (the only aircraft carrier out of service)
The size of the army is 1013628.
1. USA
Photo website army.mil.
Defense budget - $647 billion
5,884 tanks
20 aircraft carriers
13362 aircraft
The total number of naval vessels is 415
Army size - 1281900
It is worth noting that the most important criterion for evaluating an army is combat operations. And the Global Firepower Index does not take this parameter into account. Russia and the United States also have a clear advantage here, for example, over China. Russia fought with Georgia and, how can I put it, probably with Ukraine. Plus he is conducting a military operation in Syria. And the United States fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is also participating in operations in Syria.
The GFP ranking only considers the amount of government spending on defense, without taking into account what percentage of the country's GDP they constitute. The top three ranking figures (data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute - SIPRI) for 2017 are as follows: China spends 1.9% of GDP on defense, Russia - 4.3%, USA - 3.1%. Only Saudi Arabia spends more than Russia (as a share of GDP) on defense in the world - 10%.
Even at the dawn of human civilization, people created armed forces to protect their borders. Back then, wars were won thanks to the size of the army and the skill of the commanders. Today, the military places emphasis on modern technology, which allows even countries as small in area as Israel to have a powerful army. In our review we will talk about the most modern and powerful armies in the world.
1. North Korea
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is known for its repressive government and its antagonistic relationship with much of the world. Currently, North Korea is armed with 4,200 tanks, 944 aircraft, and 967 warships.
Despite the impressive numbers, North Korea's weapons are considered very outdated. For example, of the 70 submarines currently in service, 20 are rusty wrecks of the Romeo class, made using 1950s technology.
2. Saudi Arabia
The Royal Saudi Armed Forces consists of infantry, air force, navy, air defense, the National Guard, as well as a number of paramilitary units. In total, there are over 230,000 people in the army of this country on active service. These are some of the richest militaries in the world.
3. Australia
China's continuous development has led Australia, as well as most countries in the Asia-Pacific region, to continuously modernize their armed forces. Despite its small size, the Australian army is considered one of the best and most effective in the world.
4. Canada
Despite the fact that this country has been one of the most peaceful and friendly throughout its history, Canada's army is one of the 25 strongest in the world. Canada currently has 181 tanks, 426 aircraft and 63 warships.
5. Iran
The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have a total strength of approximately 545,000 personnel. Without a doubt, it is one of the most powerful and dominant forces in the Middle East.
6. Thailand
Historically, the military has been the basis of unity and peace in Thai society. While the country boasts an impressive number of troops and tanks, the most fascinating fact is that Thailand has an aircraft carrier but no combat aircraft (since all AV-8S Matador aircraft were retired in 2006). .
7. Taiwan
Under constant threat of invasion by a gigantic Chinese army that still has plans to invade and occupy its neighbor, Taiwan has focused its military development entirely on building defenses. This is why such a small island has more helicopters (307) than most countries in the world. Also, the number of tanks (2,005) and aircraft (815) in Taiwan is quite impressive relative to its size.
8. Poland
The tense situation in Ukraine has forced the Polish government to start spending huge amounts of money recently on the defense industry. As a result of this, the level of the Polish army increased significantly in just a few years.
9. Vietnam
The Vietnamese People's Army is considered one of the most prestigious and sacred concepts in local culture. This was especially aggravated after the brave (and victorious, in the eyes of most historians) people's army fought against such superpowers as France and the United States in the twentieth century. The Vietnamese army is an integral part of the culture of this country and is considered one of the strongest in Asia.
10. Israel
Despite its small size, both in territory and population, and its very short history, Israel can proudly claim that its defense forces have been one of the most active (if not the most active) in the world for the past five decades. Due to constant tensions in the region, Israel has created an incredibly strong and modernized army.
11. Brazil
With the second largest armed forces in the Americas (after the United States) and the largest in Latin America, Brazil currently has 486 tanks, 735 aircraft and 110 ships, and 330,000 military personnel and officers. .
Although South America is a relatively peaceful continent, Brazil borders 10 countries and therefore requires a significant number of military personnel.
12. Indonesia
The Indonesian Army was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when it engaged in guerrilla warfare. Today, with approximately half a million troops and modern technology, it is considered one of the most powerful armies in Asia.
13. Pakistan
Pakistan's military is the 13th strongest in the world, thanks to the country's constant improvement in its military technology. In addition, Pakistan's armed forces are the largest contributor to United Nations peacekeeping efforts, with more than 10,000 Pakistani Army personnel permanently deployed overseas.
14. Egypt
The Egyptian military is not only the largest in Africa and the Middle East, but also one of the largest in the world, with 470,000 active personnel. It is also one of the most ancient armies, as it was created in 3200 BC.
15. South Korea
The fact that this country borders its dangerous, unpredictable northern neighbor (North Korea) has forced South Korea to spend crazy amounts of money on military equipment and weapons, making its army one of the most modernized and powerful in the world. Currently, the Asians boast an army of 625,000, 2,381 tanks and 1,451 aircraft.
16. Italy
The Italian armed forces consist of the regular army, navy, air force and carabinieri (who also serve as military police). At the end of 2014, the 320,000-strong Italian army is the third largest in the European Union and the fifth largest among NATO countries.
17. Germany
The reform of the German armed forces taking place today is the most radical revision of the Bundeswehr in the entire history of the country. The problem of international terrorism and global cooperation have led to the need for a smaller, more flexible force structure that will not have as strong a defensive function as in the last few decades.
18. Türkiye
The Turkish armed forces are considered the second largest in NATO (after the US military). The estimated strength of the Turkish army is 495,000 people.
19. Japan
The Japan Self-Defense Forces were created after World War II. Although they have been inactive for most of the last fifty years, tensions in the area have been steadily rising recently (particularly due to North Korea). This forced Japan to urgently modernize its army.
20. UK
Despite its relatively small size compared to countries such as the US, Russia and China, and the fact that the British government plans to reduce the size of its armed forces by 10% by 2018, the once globally dominant United Kingdom -still has one of the most powerful armies in the world.
21. France
France may not be the military power it once was, but it is still in the top ten most powerful in the world. Its main military actions recently have been the fight against terrorism in Mali, Afghanistan, Libya, and currently the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Russian Army.
Global modernization and a huge military procurement program carried out by Putin over the past two decades have made the Russian military one of the most powerful in the world.
25. United States
Despite recent geopolitical misadventures and America's withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States military continues to hold the distinction of being the world's most powerful military with the world's largest defense budget.
However, even in the most powerful armies, embarrassments occur. For example, such as the appearance of .
The troops are considered an important part of the country and its security. Every year, large funds are allocated from budgets for the maintenance and modernization of weapons, training and maintenance of soldiers, and much more. Countries are also taking special initiatives to strengthen themselves militarily.
Hypothetically, it is impossible to compare the armies of different countries of the world and find out which of them is the strongest. However, without leading to carnage, we will try to get an idea of the military power of countries, taking into account: the arsenal at their disposal; implementation of advanced technologies; military combat skills of soldiers; power and number of allies; army size; allocated budget for maintaining troops, etc.
Let's look at the TOP 10 countries with the most powerful armies in the world.
The most powerful armies in the world
10. Japan
Japan is the land of the samurai and was a leading force during World War II. Interestingly, according to the peace treaty that was signed after the end of World War II, Japan is prohibited from having an offensive army. In response to growing controversy over China's expanding military power, Japan has begun military expansion for the first time in 40 years, establishing new military bases on its outer islands. “The Land of the Rising Sun,” for the first time in the last 11 years, increased military spending to $49,100 million and, according to this indicator, ranks 6th in the world. The Japanese Army has more than 247,000 active personnel and nearly 60,000 in reserve. The air force squadron consists of 1,595 aircraft (5th in the world). The fleet consists of about 131 warships. In addition, through its recent defense initiatives, it maintains a strong military presence in Asia.
9. South Korea
South Korea borders North Korea, which has an extremely powerful army at its disposal, and therefore poses a constant threat to South Korea. But a possible attack by neighbors is not the only problem for South Korea. To meet the growing weaponry of China and Japan, South Korea is increasing its defense spending, which currently stands at about $34 billion. The number of troops is more than 640,000 active personnel and 2,900,000 additional personnel in reserve. The air force is represented by 1,393 aircraft (6th largest). Fleet - 166 ships. South Korea also has about 15,000 ground weapons, including missile systems, as well as 2,346 tanks. South Korean troops regularly take part in military exercises with the United States.
8. Türkiye
In 2015, the Turkish government decided to increase its country's defense spending by 10%. This may be due to the fact that not far from Turkey there is a war between the Islamic State and Syrian troops, or perhaps due to the likelihood of a clash with the Kurdish separatist organization. Turkey's defense budget is around $18180000000. The size of the army (both regular and reserve) is just over 660000. The Turkish Air Force has 1000 aircraft. There are also 16,000 ground weapons in service. Turkey has strong diplomatic relations with the United States (though these ties are weakening every year), and is also involved in initiatives around the world.
7. Germany
Germany is one of the world's strongest economic powers, but despite spending around $45 million every year, the army's fortunes seem to have worsened over the past few years. One of the reasons for this may be that the generation born and raised in the 1950s and 60s was against war and feared attacks from other countries with stronger armies. This still discourages people from joining the military. In 2011, compulsory military service was eliminated to prevent the country from becoming a militarized country. The force consists of only 183,000 active personnel and 145,000 reservists. There are 710 aircraft in service with aviation. The total number of weapons of various types is almost one.
6. France
France is another country that followed Germany and in 2013 the country's government decided to "effectively" freeze military spending and defense jobs by 10% to save money on technologically advanced equipment. Currently, France's military budget is about $43 billion a year, which is 1.9% of the country's GDP (well below the spending target set by NATO). The French armed forces number about 220 thousand active personnel and the same number of people are in reserve. Aviation is represented by more than 1000 aircraft. There are also approximately 9,000 ground vehicles in service. Even if this does not make France a formidable army, it has several trump cards: its position in the EU and the UN, as well as the presence of about 290 nuclear weapons.
5. UK
The UK is another EU member also implementing a plan to reduce the size of its armed forces by 20% between 2010 and 2018. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are also being cut. Britain's military budget currently stands at $54 billion. Britain's regular army numbers about 205,000. The Air Force is represented by 908 aircraft. Navy - 66 ships. However, the British Army is still considered powerful and superior to many others due to the training of soldiers. Britain also has 160 nuclear weapons, which is the strongest argument. The Royal Navy plans to commission HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2020.
4. India
The Indian government decided to take advantage of the fact that the country's population is very large. The Indian Army has a sizeable strength of 3.5 million, including 1.325 million active personnel. The sheer size of the Indian army is one of the reasons why India ranks so high in our rankings and in the ranking of the best armies in the world. The army's strength is complemented by nearly 16,000 ground vehicles, which include 3,500 tanks, as well as 1,785 aircraft, along with nuclear weapons. Indian ballistic missiles could hit all of Pakistan or most of China. The current military budget is $46 billion, but the government plans to increase this amount by 2020, as well as modernize some weapons.
3. China
It has another 2,800 aircraft in its air force. China has approximately 300 nuclear weapons at its disposal, along with 180 different methods of deploying them. China recently acquired classified information about the new F-35, and is known to successfully steal sensitive military equipment. China is rightfully one of the top 3 armed forces.
According to official data, China's defense budget is $126 billion, and in the near future this amount may increase by another 12.2%. The Chinese army is a formidable force, with 2.285 million active front-line personnel and another 2.3 million reservists - the world's largest ground force, which also operates with 25,000 ground vehicles. Chinese aviation consists of 2,800 aircraft. China also has about 300 nuclear weapons at its disposal. Taking all this into account, we can say that China rightfully occupies third place in our ranking of the most powerful countries in the world.
2. Russia
Russia's military budget is $76,600 million, but in the next three years it will increase by 44%. In fact, the Kremlin's spending has increased by about a third since 2008, especially when Vladimir Putin became president of the Russian Federation in 2000. The Russian army has shown significant growth since the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago. About 766,000 active personnel are involved in the Russian army, including about 2.5 million people in the reserve forces. In addition, there are 15,500 tanks in service, making Russia the largest tank force in the world, although they become obsolete like any other equipment. Russia is also a leader among nuclear states, having at its disposal 8,500 active nuclear warheads.
1. United States of America
The United States annually spends colossal amounts of money, in the amount of $6125 billion, on maintaining the army. This budget is equal to the sum of the budgets of the other nine countries combined. The United States maintains a surprisingly large military of more than 1.4 million soldiers, plus another 800,000 reservists. In addition to active ground teams, the Reserve includes trained men and women ready to assist troops at a moment's notice. The advantage of the United States is that the country is a world leader in the production of aviation equipment. The United States also has 19 aircraft carriers in service, while all other states have only 12 aircraft in total. 7,500 nuclear warheads also help maintain the United States' title as the world's most powerful country and military.
