These Are The World’s 25 Most Powerful Armies
Harin - Dec 26, 2019
The 2019 Military Strength Ranking puts on the scales 137 countries based on 55 factors. Here is the list of the world’s 25 most powerful militaries.
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The 2019 Military Strength Ranking puts on the scales 137 countries based on 55 factors. The ranking then evaluates each country’s weapon diversity and focuses on their available manpower. It also considers factors like geography, available natural resources, logistical capacity, and local industry’s status. A bonus point will be given to recognized nuclear powers. However, the nuclear stockpile is not considered as a factor in this ranking. Bonus points are also given to NATO countries. 0.0000 is the top power index score, which is said to be “realistically unattainable.” The closer the point to this number suggests the more powerful a military is. Based on these criteria, here is the list of the world’s 25 most powerful armies.
25. Saudi Arabia

Power Index Score: 0.4268
Country’s population: 33,091,113
Defense budget: $70 million
The number of military personnel: around 230,000
Aircraft strength: 848 – Ranking: 12th
Naval assets: 55
Fighter aircraft: 244 – Ranking: 12th
Combat tanks: 1,062 – Ranking: 24th
24. Poland

Power Index Score: 0.4059 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 38,420,687
Defense budget: $9.36 billion
The number of military personnel: around 105,000
Aircraft strength: 469 – Ranking: 27th
Naval assets: 83
Fighter aircraft: 93 – Ranking: 26th
Combat tanks: 1100 – Ranking: 23rd
23. Vietnam

Power Index Score: 0.3988
Country’s population: 97,040,334
Defense budget: $3.365 billion
The number of military personnel: around 5,482,000
Aircraft strength: 318 – Ranking: 33rd
Naval assets: 65
Fighter aircraft: 108 – Ranking: 21st
Combat tanks: 2,575 – Ranking: 28th
22. Taiwan

Power Index Score: 0.3956
Country’s population: 23,545,963
Defense budget: $10.725 billion
The number of military personnel: around 5,482,000
Aircraft strength: 837 – Ranking: 13th
Naval assets: 87
Fighter aircraft: 286 – Ranking: 9th
Combat tanks: 1,885 – Ranking: 17th
21. Canada

Power Index Score: 0.3941 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 35,881,659
Defense budget: $21.2 billion
The number of military personnel: around 94,000
Aircraft strength: 384 – Ranking: 31st
Naval assets: 63
Fighter aircraft: 53 – Ranking: 38th
Combat tanks: 80 – Ranking: 79th
20. Spain

Power Index Score: 0.3921 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 49,331,076
Defense budget: $11.6 billion
The number of military personnel: around 139,500
Aircraft strength: 522 – Ranking: 23rd
Naval assets: 46 with one aircraft carrier
Fighter aircraft: 136 – Ranking: 18th
Combat tanks: 327 – Ranking: 51st
19. Australia

Power Index Score: 0.3277
Country’s population: 49,331,076
Defense budget: $26.3 billion
The number of military personnel: around 79,700
Aircraft strength: 467 – Ranking: 28th
Naval assets: 47 with two aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 78 – Ranking: 27th
Combat tanks: 66 – Ranking: 86th
18. North Korea

Power Index Score: 0.3274
Country’s population: 25,381,085
Defense budget: $7.5 billion
The number of military personnel: around 7.58 million
Aircraft strength: 949 – Ranking: 11th
Naval assets: 967
Fighter aircraft: 458 – Ranking: 5th
Combat tanks: 6,075 – Ranking: 4th
17. Israel

Power Index Score: 0.2964
Country’s population: 8,424,904
Defense budget: $19.6 billion
The number of military personnel: around 615,000
Aircraft strength: 595 – Ranking: 18th
Naval assets: 65
Fighter aircraft: 253 – Ranking: 11th
Combat tanks: 2,760 – Ranking: 8th
16. Indonesia

Power Index Score: 0.2804
Country’s population: 262,787,403
Defense budget: $6.9 billion
The number of military personnel: around 800,000
Aircraft strength: 451 – Ranking: 30th
Naval assets: 221
Fighter aircraft: 41 – Ranking: 43rd
Combat tanks: 315 – Ranking: 52nd
15. Pakistan

Power Index Score: 0.2798
Country’s population: 207,862,518
Defense budget: $6.9 billion
The number of military personnel: around 800,000
Aircraft strength: 451 – Ranking: 30th
Naval assets: 221
Fighter aircraft: 41 – Ranking: 43rd
Combat tanks: 315 – Ranking: 52nd
14. Iran

Power Index Score: 0.2606
Country’s population: 83,024,745
Defense budget: $6.3 billion
The number of military personnel: around 873,000
Aircraft strength: 509 – Ranking: 24th
Naval assets: 398
Fighter aircraft: 142 – Ranking: 17th
Combat tanks: 1,634 – Ranking: 18th
13. Brazil

Power Index Score: 0.2487
Country’s population: 208,846,892
Defense budget: $29.3 billion
The number of military personnel: around 1,674,500
Aircraft strength: 706 – Ranking: 16th
Naval assets: 110
Fighter aircraft: 43 – Ranking: 42nd
Combat tanks: 437 – Ranking: 40th
12. Egypt

Power Index Score: 0.2283
Country’s population: 99.413.317
Defense budget: $4.4 billion
The number of military personnel: around 920.000
Aircraft strength: 1,092 – Ranking: 9th
Naval assets: 319 with two aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 211 – Ranking: 13th
Combat tanks: 2,160 – Ranking: 14th
11. Italy

Power Index Score: 0.2277 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 62.246.674
Defense budget: $29.2 billion
The number of military personnel: around 357,000
Aircraft strength: 831– Ranking: 14th
Naval assets: 137 with five aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 94 – Ranking: 25th
Combat tanks: 200 – Ranking: 60th
10. Germany

Power Index Score: 0.2097 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 80,457,737
Defense budget: $49.1 billion
The number of military personnel: around 208,641
Aircraft strength: 613 – Ranking: 17th
Naval assets: 81
Fighter aircraft: 122 – Ranking: 20th
Combat tanks: 900 – Ranking: 26th
9. Turkey

Power Index Score: 0.2089 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 81,257,239
Defense budget: $8.6 billion
The number of military personnel: around 735,000
Aircraft strength: 1,067 – Ranking: 10th
Naval assets: 194
Fighter aircraft: 207 – Ranking: 14th
Combat tanks: 3.200 – Ranking: 7th
8. United Kingdom

Power Index Score: 0.1797 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 65,105,246
Defense budget: $47.5 billion
The number of military personnel: around 233,000
Aircraft strength: 811 – Ranking: 15th
Naval assets: 76 with one aircraft carrier
Fighter aircraft: 129 – Ranking: 19th
Combat tanks: 331 – Ranking: 49th
7. South Korea

Power Index Score: 0.1761
Country’s population: 51,418.097
Defense budget: $38.3 billion
The number of military personnel: around 5,827,150
Aircraft strength: 1,614 – Ranking: 5th
Naval assets: 166 with one aircraft carrier
Fighter aircraft: 406 – Ranking: 6th
Combat tanks: 2,654– Ranking: 9th
6. Japan

Power Index Score: 0.1707
Country’s population: 125,128,156
Defense budget: $47 billion
The number of military personnel: around 303,157
Aircraft strength: 1,572 – Ranking: 6th
Naval assets: 131 with four aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 297 – Ranking: 8th
Combat tanks: 1,004 – Ranking: 25th
5. France

Power Index Score: 0.1584 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 67,364,357
Defense budget: $40.5 billion
The number of military personnel: around 388,635
Aircraft strength: 1,248 – Ranking: 8th
Naval assets: 118 with four aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 273 – Ranking: 10th
Combat tanks: 406 – Ranking: 44th
4. India

Power Index Score: 0.1065
Country’s population: 1,296,834,042
Defense budget: $55.2 billion
The number of military personnel: around 3,462,500
Aircraft strength: 2,082 – Ranking: 4th
Naval assets: 295 with one aircraft carrier
Fighter aircraft: 520 – Ranking: 4th
Combat tanks: 4,184 – Ranking: 6th
3. China

Power Index Score: 0.0673
Country’s population: 1,384,688,986
Defense budget: $224 billion
The number of military personnel: around 2,693,000
Aircraft strength: 3,187 – Ranking: 3rd
Naval assets: 714 with one aircraft carrier
Fighter aircraft: 1,222 – Ranking: 2nd
Combat tanks: 13,050 – Ranking: 2nd
2. Russia

Power Index Score: 0.0639
Country’s population: 142,122,776
Defense budget: $44 billion
The number of military personnel: around 3,586,128
Aircraft strength: 4,078 – Ranking: 2nd
Naval assets: 352 with one aircraft carrier but it is out of service permanently
Fighter aircraft: 869 – Ranking: 3rd
Combat tanks: 21,932 – Ranking: 1st
1. United States

Power Index Score: 0.0615 (NATO member)
Country’s population: 329,256,465
Defense budget: $716 billion
The number of military personnel: around 2,141,900
Aircraft strength: 13,398 – Ranking: 1st
Naval assets: 415 with 415 aircraft carriers
Fighter aircraft: 2,362 – Ranking: 1st
Combat tanks: 6,287 – Ranking: 3rd
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