There’s been much discussion and debate about the original article, Top 10 Armies in the World, written in 2010. In an effort to better quantify the rankings of the top military forces in the world, data was analyzed on more than sixty countries across a variety of points.
The most recent data available at GlobalFirepower.com was reviewed including size of defense budget, number of active military members, number of tanks and armored vehicles, number of aircraft and helicopters, and number of naval craft. Each component was then assigned a weight before a comprehensive score for each country was calculated, which differs from the rankings Global Firepower assigned.
Most countries like to boast of their military prowess but not all can back up their claim as one of the best in the world with data and numbers. However, after the calculations were completed, the top ten were easily visible as the most powerful militaries in the world.
#10: United Kingdom
The British military is over 200,000 strong across three branches of service – navy, army and air force. The U.K. has a defense budget of nearly $58 billion annually. Of the top ten military powers, it has the smallest number of active duty members but one of the largest budgets. With nearly 1,800 aircraft and helicopters and over 5,500 tanks and armored vehicles, it is a viable force and an unwavering ally of the United States.
#9: Pakistan
Pakistan’s military was founded in 1947 and consists of three branches of service. It maintains a force of over 600,000 people who have all volunteered for service. Pakistan’s military has close ties to the militaries of the United States and China. With a defense budget of just over $5 billion, it is the smallest budget of the top ten military powers, but still far exceeds many other defense budgets around the world. While on par with the U.K. for naval craft, Pakistan boasts several hundred more aircraft and helicopters and over 9,000 tanks and armored vehicles.
#8: Iran
Iran’s modern day military was founded in 1923 and currently has over 500,000 active members. With a defense budget of just over $10 billion, Iran is a formidable military. It has more naval craft than the United States and United Kingdom combined and is surprisingly close to the same number of aircraft and helicopters as China, which has a much larger force size and defense budget.
#7: France
While France may not necessarily have the reputation of a military superpower, the numbers show differently even if their perceived attitude around the world does not. France has a military of over 360,000 strong across the army, navy, air force and paramilitary branches. With a budget of over $58 billion, it is fourth on the list behind the U.S., China and Russia. It does have the smallest number of aircraft and helicopters of any other military power in the list.
#6: Turkey
The Turkish Army dates back more than 2,000 years though the modern day military branches were founded in 1920. With a force of over 600,000 and a budget of close to $19 billion, it is solidly in the top ten military powers in the world. It ranks fourth on the list for tanks and armored vehicles with estimates of just over 11,000. With very few exceptions, military service is required of all male citizens after the age of twenty, contributing to the large force size.
#5 North Korea
The Korean People’s Army includes five branches of service – ground force, navy, air force, special operations and strategic missile force. Its military is quite large with over one million on active duty. Combined with the staggering reserve force of over eight million, it has the largest military in the world.
With its neighbor to the south, tensions are always high. Because of the alliance between the United States and South Korea, this makes the U.S. a known enemy as well. North Korea is no stranger to making threats against other countries including the use of its nuclear and chemical weapons.
With its neighbor to the south, tensions are always high. Because of the alliance between the United States and South Korea, this makes the U.S. a known enemy as well. North Korea is no stranger to making threats against other countries including the use of its nuclear and chemical weapons.
#4: India
The Indian military is over one million strong across four branches as well as paramilitary units. It is an all-volunteer force operating under of budget of more than $44 billion. While its aircraft and helicopter as well as tank and armored vehicle numbers rank it solidly in the middle of the list, it has the smallest naval craft fleet of the top ten. India is also estimated to have more than eighty nuclear warheads in its possession.
#3: Russia
The current Russian force was founded in 1992, however, Russia has a military history that dates back as early as 863. All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 27 are drafted for military service for a period of 12 months. There are some exceptions including being a student or the parent of two or more children.
Russia currently has over 1.2 million active duty military members and operates under a budget of more than $64 billion dollars. It is surpassed in military spending only by China and the U.S. Of note, it does have more than double the number of aircraft and helicopters as China, though China has double the number of tanks and armored vehicles. Russia also has the largest number of nuclear warheads in the world, though not the most active.
Russia currently has over 1.2 million active duty military members and operates under a budget of more than $64 billion dollars. It is surpassed in military spending only by China and the U.S. Of note, it does have more than double the number of aircraft and helicopters as China, though China has double the number of tanks and armored vehicles. Russia also has the largest number of nuclear warheads in the world, though not the most active.
#2: China
The People’s Liberation Army of China was founded in 1927 and has the largest active duty force in the world with nearly 2.3 million serving. It has the second largest defense budget of more than $129 billion. It is also known to house nuclear weapons with estimates around 240 in country. Even though there is technically a requirement for military service, the military has never had an issue with maintaining a large force through volunteers. Therefore, a draft system is not currently in effect.
#1: United States
The United States military has a long history dating back to 1775. With over 1.4 million on active duty, it has the second largest active duty force ranking only behind China. However, the defense budget is what really sets the U.S. apart from all other countries on the list. With a budget of over $689 billion, its budget exceeds all other military budgets on this list combined by nearly $300 billion.
Ranking only behind Russia in the total number of warheads, the U.S has the largest number of active warheads in the world. The U.S. also has the largest number of aircraft and helicopters by far with just over 21,000 and barely skirts ahead of China in the number of tanks and armored vehicles.
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