Each state must ensure the protection of its inhabitants and territorial borders. This is what the armed forces are for. They react to aggression, fight for the freedom of the country, protect its population. This rating was selected based on information taken from Wikipedia, as well as a list of military funding compiled by the SIPRI Institute (Stockholm, Sweden). So. Below are the 10 strongest, most powerful armies in the world.
Brazil spends $34 billion annually to finance the military, which is 1.1% of the country's GDP. Its army is considered the largest in Latin America - about 300 thousand people are in regular service, another 1 million in reserve. The call to it is actually voluntary. Brazil has one aircraft carrier, approximately 500 tanks, 5 submarines and 750 aircraft.
The Japanese Armed Forces were formed in 1954 from the National Security Forces created two years earlier. The ninth article of the Japanese Constitution restricts military activities self-defense forces, not related to the defense of the country. Simply put, its main task is to defend the state and protect the freedoms and independence of the country. The budget of the Japanese army is from 43 to 47 billion dollars. The total number of self-defense is approximately 250 thousand people, 56 thousand are in the reserve.
Turkey is one of the most peaceful countries. This is achieved thanks to the army. About $20 billion is spent annually on the needs of the armed forces. The Turkish army is designed to protect the freedom, independence and integrity of the state. The ground forces are considered the second strongest in the NATO bloc, after the American ground forces. The number of Turkish armed forces has 510,600 people, in reserve 378,700.
Bundeswehr (Germany)
Armed forces Federal Republic Germany was formed on November 12, 1955. The main duty of the Bundeswehr is the prevention of conflicts and the protection of borders. According to statistics, 170 thousand people are in the service of Germany, 4 million are in reserve. Men from 18 to 45 years old are considered liable for military service. Every year, about 45 billion dollars Germany spends to finance the needs of the army.
For several years now, India has ranked first in terms of arms imports. Developing country is experiencing political instability, corruption, terrorism and more. Naturally, her army must be very strong, which India has. In 2014, 50 billion dollars (2.4% of GDP) were allocated for the military needs of India. There is no compulsory conscription in the country. Main prerogative military organization– protection of the Republic, borders and freedoms of the state. Total India's regular military is 1,395,000, the reserve is 1,155,000.
France is one of the few countries that has in its stock almost a complete range of modern weapons and military equipment. In the service of the French there are 355 thousand people, including reservists. The draft in the country has been canceled since 1997, however, those who wish can join the army from the age of 17. France also has nuclear weapons, namely 4 strategic submarine missile carriers and hundreds of aircraft with nuclear missiles.
The armed forces of Great Britain, since 1707, combine the armies of Scotland and England. The spending of the two governments on the military industry is about 60 billion dollars a year. As a multinational force, the British Army participates in hot spots around the world, as well as in UN peacekeeping operations on the planet.
The People's Republic of China has the largest number of active employees. There are 2.4 million people in China's active service, but theoretically war time about 400 million could be mobilized. The most powerful military power, according to rough estimates, increased funding from 17 billion dollars to 70 (the difference between 2000 and 2009), and in 2014 spent about 200 billion dollars.
Armed forces Russian Federation are designed to repel aggression directed against the Russian Federation, protect territorial integrity, and also to carry out military tasks in accordance with international treaties. It is considered one of the most powerful in the world, while having an expenditure of $ 85 billion (less than that of China and the United States). Russia is armed with the largest number of equipment and nuclear weapons. To date, 1 million 200 thousand people are employed in the army. There are 2 million people in reserve. Russia's potential mobilization resource is estimated at 69 million people. Conscription in Russia is obligatory for all boys from 18 to 27 years old. The service is designed for 12 months.
Incredible spending on the military industry brings America to 1st place among both the most powerful and among the countries in military spending - $ 600 billion (3.5% of GDP). In active service armed forces The United States is 700 thousand people, another 200 thousand are on the reserve. Ground military operations are the main prerogative of the American army. The huge budget is mainly spent on overseas operations, technology to help in combat and equipment. More than 7,000 tanks, 13,000 air vehicles, about 7,000 nuclear bombs(including nuclear missiles), more than 70 submarines and 10 aircraft carriers.
The troops are considered an important part of the country and its security. Every year, large funds are allocated from the budgets to maintain and modernize weapons, train and maintain soldiers, and much more. Countries are also taking special initiatives to strengthen themselves militarily.
Hypothetically, compare armies different countries world and find out which one is the strongest, impossible. However, without leading to a bloodbath, we will try to get an idea of the military power of countries, taking into account: the arsenal at the 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 strongest armies in the world.
The most powerful armies in the world
10. Japan
Japan is the land of the samurai and was the leading force during World War II. Interestingly, according to the peace treaty, which was signed after the end of World War II, Japan is prohibited from having an offensive army. In response to the growing controversy over China's military expansion, Japan has launched a military expansion for the first time in 40 years and is placing new military bases on its outer islands. "Country 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 over 247,000 active personnel and almost 60,000 in reserve. The Air Force Squadron consists of 1595 aircraft (5th in the world). The fleet has about 131 warships. In addition, through his recent defense initiatives, he maintains a strong military presence in Asia.
9. South Korea
South Korea is bordered by North Korea, which has an extremely powerful military 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 armament of China and Japan, South Korea is ramping up defense spending, which currently stands at about $34 billion. It has more than 640,000 active troops and 2,900,000 additional reserve personnel. The air force is represented by 1,393 aircraft (6th largest). Fleet - 166 ships. Also in South Korea, there are 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. Turkey
In 2015, the Turkish government decided to increase its defense spending by 10%. This may be due to the fact that there is a war between ISIS and Syrian troops not far from Turkey, and possibly because of the likelihood of a collision with a Kurdish separatist organization. Turkey's defense budget is about $18180000000. The size of the army (both regular and reserve) is just over 660000. The Turkish Air Force has 1000 aircraft. Also in service are 16,000 ground weapons. Turkey has strong diplomatic relations with the United States (although these ties are weakening every year), and also participates in initiatives around the world.
7. Germany
Germany is one of the strongest economic powers in the world, but despite spending about $45 million each year, the state of the army seems 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 the war and was afraid of attacks from other countries with stronger armies. This still discourages people from joining the ranks of the troops. In 2011, compulsory military service was abolished to prevent the country from being a militarized country. The troops include only 183,000 active personnel and 145,000 reservists. Aviation is armed with 710 aircraft. Total number of weapons various kinds- almost units.
6. France
France is another country that followed Germany and in 2013 the French government decided to “effectively” freeze military spending and jobs in the defense sector 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 have about 220 thousand active personnel and the same number of people are in reserve. Aviation is represented by more than 1000 aircraft. Also in service are about 9,000 ground vehicles. Even if that doesn't make France a formidable army, it does have a few trump cards: positions in the EU and the UN, and some 290 nuclear weapons.
5. UK
The UK is another EU member, also implementing a plan to reduce the size of the armed forces by 20% in 2010-2018. The reduction of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force is also underway. The UK military budget currently stands at $54 billion. Britain's regular army has about 205,000 men. 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 training soldier. Also, Britain has 160 nuclear weapons, which is the strongest argument. Royal Navy plans to commission HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2020
4. India
The government of India decided to take advantage of the fact that the population of the country is very large. The Indian Army has a sizable 3.5 million men, including 1.325 million active troops. The sheer size of the Indian army is one of the reasons why India ranks so high in our rankings and in the rankings of the best armies in the world. The strength of the army is supplemented by a practical 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 about 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 figures, China's defense budget is $126 billion, and this amount may increase by another 12.2% in the near future. The Chinese army is massive, with 2.285 million active front-line personnel and another 2.3 million reservists, the largest in the world. ground troops, which, at the same time, operate with 25,000 ground vehicles. Chinese aviation consists of 2,800 aircraft. China also has about 300 nuclear weapons at its disposal. Given all this, we can say that China rightfully ranks third in our ranking of the most powerful countries in the world.
2. Russia
Russia's military budget is $76,600 million, but it will increase by 44% in the next three years. In fact, Kremlin spending has increased by about a third since 2008, especially when Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. The Russian army has shown significant growth since the collapse 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, 15,500 tanks are in service, making Russia the largest tank force in the world, although they are becoming obsolete like any other equipment. Russia is also the leader among nuclear states, having at its disposal 8500 active nuclear warheads.
1. United States of America
The United States annually spends a whopping $612500000000 to maintain the army. This is the budget is equal to the sum budgets of nine other countries combined. The United States maintains a surprisingly large army of over 1.4 million soldiers and another 800,000 reservists. In addition to active ground teams, the reserve includes trained men and women ready to assist the troops at any given time. The advantage of the USA is that the country is the world leader in the production of aviation equipment. Also in service with the States are 19 aircraft carriers, while all other states have a total of only 12 pieces. The 7,500 nuclear warheads also help maintain the United States of America as the world's most powerful country and military.
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Military and economic experts regularly determine the global index of military power - the Global Firepower Index. This is one of the most objective ratings, it takes into account more than 50 different indicators. This year, experts analyzed the armed forces of 127 states.
When compiling the Global Firepower (GFP) Index, not only is a rigorous calculation of tanks, aircraft and warships carried out, but also the number of personnel of the army and its reserve, the level of funding military sphere, the country's transport infrastructure, oil production, the size of the public debt and even the length of the coastline - in a word, all the factors that can affect the combat capability of the national army.
The presence of a nuclear arsenal is not taken into account, but the states that possess nuclear weapons receive a "bonus". The top three - the United States, Russia and China - has remained unchanged for three years. This is what the ranking of the most powerful armies in the world looked like in 2015.
America has long been ahead of everyone at times in military spending. In second place in terms of the military budget, also for many years, China. On the third - Russia. The Chinese army is the largest in the world. Russia is the first in the world in terms of the number of tanks.
1. USA
Photo site army.mil.
Defense budget - $587.8 billion (nearly $588 billion)
5,884 tanks
19 aircraft carriers
13762 aircraft
The total number of ships of the Navy - 415
Army size - 1,400,000
2. Russia
Defense budget — $44.6 billion
20,215 tanks
1 aircraft carrier
3,794 aircraft
Army size - 766,055
3. China
Defense budget - $161.7 billion
6,457 tanks
1 aircraft carrier
2,955 aircraft
Army strength - 2,335,000
4. India
Defense budget - $51 billion
4,426 tanks
3 aircraft carriers
2,102 aircraft
Army strength - 1,325,000
5. France
A photo: page French Armed Forces on Facebook.
Defense budget — $35 billion
406 tanks
4 aircraft carriers
1,305 aircraft
Army strength - 205,000
6. UK
Prince Harry during military service. Instagram photo marines royal navy.
Defense budget — $45.7 billion
249 tanks
1 helicopter carrier
856 aircraft
Army size - 150,000
7. Japan
Defense budget - $43.8 billion
700 tanks
4 helicopter carriers
1,594 aircraft
Army size - 250,000
8. Turkey
Defense budget — $8.2 billion
2445 tanks
Aircraft carriers - 0
1,018 aircraft
Army size - 410,500
9. Germany
Defense budget — $39.2 billion
543 tanks
Aircraft carriers - 0
698 aircraft
Army size - 180,000
10 Italy
Photo from flickr.com
Defense budget — $34 billion
200 tanks
Aircraft carriers - 2
822 aircraft
Army size - 320,000
11. South Korea
Defense budget — $43.8 billion
2,654 tanks
1 aircraft carrier
1,477 aircraft
Army strength - 625,000
It is worth noting that the most important criterion for evaluating the army is fighting. And this parameter is not taken into account by the Global Firepower Index. Russia and the United States also have a clear advantage here, for example, over China. Russia was at war with Georgia and, how should 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 involved in operations in Syria.
16.05.2015
Military and economic experts regularly determine the global index of military power - the Global Firepower Index, which is one of the most objective and takes into account more than 50 different indicators.
When compiling the Global Firepower (GFP) Index, not only is a rigorous calculation of tanks, aircraft and warships carried out, but also the number of personnel of the army and its reserve, the level of financing of the military sphere, the country's transport infrastructure, oil production, the size of public debt and even the length of the coastal lines - in a word, all the factors that can affect the combat effectiveness of the national army.
Various specialized publications also regularly rank the military power of countries using GFP data and adding their own indicators. For example, here are the 10 most powerful armies in the world according to the GFP Index, only the fleet is calculated differently.
But the GFP counts navies by the number of ships, which makes a patrol boat equal to an aircraft carrier. Instead, the displacement (size) of ships is taken into account here.
Table of indicators of the ten most militarily powerful countries in the world
Click to enlarge
1. USA
This is not a surprise - the United States has the most powerful army in the world. America spends $577,000,000,000 on defense a year, nearly four times more China with its $145 billion budget. The US is the third largest country in terms of manpower, after India and China, but the US air force and navy are larger than those of all the other countries in the table combined.
2. Russia
USA's rival cold war still able to deliver a powerful blow. The high rating of Russia is largely due to the huge number of tanks and armored vehicles in general (pictured is the new Russian one). The Russian Federation also has a large navy and, moreover, the country is one of the world's largest oil producers.
Russia ranks fourth in terms of the number of military personnel, but their number is largely provided by poorly trained conscripts who serve only a year.
Although it is not in the GFP calculations, Russian special forces and propaganda have shown their strength in Ukraine, where Russia is the main source of destabilization.
3. China
China has the world's second-largest military spending, the third-largest military aircraft fleet, the second-largest armored power, and the world's first-largest military force.
The Chinese Special Forces also took 3 out of 4 first places at the Warrior Games in Jordan in 2014.
Although there is a formal military conscription in China, in reality it is very rarely used.
4. India
But India is vulnerable because of the large demand for fuel in relation to its small volumes of oil produced.
Interestingly, in India, the border troops still have a camel regiment.
5. UK
Despite a small number of armored vehicles, aircraft and military personnel, the UK retains a place in the top five with fifth in the world. navy and the fourth military budget.
British military force geography also contributes, this island country is difficult to attack by ground forces.
6. France
France is not impressive in terms of the number of ships, aircraft and tanks, but its military-industrial complex modern and very powerful.
Mirage and Rafale aircraft, Tiger helicopters, Leclerc tanks and the only non-US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, provide French military strength.
France produces most of its weapons, that is, it has the ability to maintain defenses during a protracted war.
7. South Korea
Although South Korea has the sixth largest army, the sixth largest air fleet, and the eighth largest navy, it has relatively small military spending and an armored corps.
Such a small country is forced to have a relatively large army due to the constant threat from North Korea, although that one and the army, in fact, is weaker than the numbers of its outdated equipment and soldiers trained in the old methods of warfare might suggest.
8. Germany
Germany ranks high in the National Interest's military power rating due to a strong economy, high military spending, and a well-trained army.
However, the news coming out of Germany shows that its position may be weaker than it appears on paper. It consumes far more fuel than it produces and imports gas and oil from Russia, its most likely adversary.
Germany's ability to withstand oil shortages is declining as it moves away from coal and nuclear energy.
9. Japan
However, the Japanese Constitution limits the growth of the armed forces and their participation in operations abroad.
10. Turkey
The development of the military industry gives a good sign to the military in Turkey. The country has a large military reserve and an armored force. And modern fleet. And Turkish weapons may be needed at any moment, since ISIS is located at the very borders of the country.
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