Time goes forward, the world does not stand still. Mankind has long realized that war brings only destruction and death. But this awareness does not give such an effect as we would like. The globe is engulfed in wars, and even countries that are not at war are aware of the existence of many factors that do not allow them to relax. All this leads to the fact that each country is trying to build up its military forces in order to feel safe.
The world community understands that it is impossible to completely abandon weapons, as there are people, for example, terrorists or extremists who will continue to destroy civilians for their religious reasons. And everyone is wondering what the top of the strongest armies in the world looks like. To compile such a list, you need to choose a number of criteria by which the armies will be judged. This is:
- maximum conscription of people into the army;
- number of tanks;
- number of planes;
- nuclear combat power;
- number of aircraft carriers;
- number of submarines;
- military budget.
It is from these sides that we will consider the armies of the world. The ranking of countries is very interesting and sometimes predictable. Let's take a closer look at our winners.
1. USA is the winner of the race
This country is very predictably ranked first. If you ask an ordinary person what is the strongest army in the world, then fifty percent will answer that the US military forces, and they will be right.
According to the above characteristics, the US wins in three. The first one is the number of planes. 13643 units of aircraft - that's what the US Army can boast of. This country is also the undoubted leader in terms of the number of aircraft carriers, there are 10 of them, while in Russia or China there is only one each. And the third, probably one of the most important qualities, because of which the United States does not lose its position in the arms race, is the budget. The White House invests more than $612 billion in its troops annually, and the US Army proves that it is worth the sums spent on it.
In addition, the status of the most high-tech and combat-ready also belongs to this army. The United States has its military bases around the world, which allows them to significantly scare potential enemies. After all, they can strike just a couple of hours after receiving an order to do so.
The Pentagon also does not lag behind in modern military developments, which gives all new, hitherto unseen types of weapons that have ever greater powerand long range. All these factors help to understand that the US is ahead of all other armies in the world. The ranking deservedly tops this country, but it is not the only one that deserves attention.
2. Second place - Russian Federation
The silver medal in this rating is deservedly received by Russia. She, as the heiress of the Soviet Union, never stopped taking her army seriously. The Russian armed forces have the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and the largest number of tanks (15,000 units), which makes enemies in awe of the Russian army.
In Russia, huge stocks of ammunition and military equipment have accumulated since Soviet times. But that is not all. The Russian army constantly keeps up with the times, inventing new weapons, which also elevates it in our rating.
The budget of the army is more than 76 billion US dollars, which is 8 times less compared to the United States. This slows down the development of the military forces of the Russian Federation a little. The army of the Russian Federation is not so numerous, but, as they say, it is necessary to take not quantity, but quality. The army consists of highly qualified personnel who have been trained and have already been in more than one skirmish. They are always ready to faithfully serve the Motherland. The Russian Armed Forces have different units that, as soon as they receive an order, are ready to go into battle and defend their country, whether it be a naval war, air or land.
3. Bronze medalist - China
The honorable third place is occupied by the armed forces of the People's Republic of China. Ownthe army deserved this place because of the large number of military personnel who defend this country. The personnel of the Chinese army has more than 749 million people. This is the largest army in the world, judging by the human resource.
Also, China is in second place after the United States in funding the army. Every year, the Chinese army receives more than 126 billion dollars from the country's budget, which more than provides it with everything it needs. Military equipment in this country is also plentiful. It is armed with 4.5 thousand armored vehicles, 2 thousand aircraft and 9150 tanks. Nuclear combat power, in comparison with Russia and the United States, is small, only 250 units, but it can cause huge damage to the enemy country in the event of a nuclear war. Experts believe that if Russia does not take up the rearmament of its troops, then by 2020 the Chinese army will take second place in this rating.
4. India moving forward
India fell a little short of the top three. It ranks fourth in the ranking of the armies of the world.
The Indian army is the second largest after China in terms of the number of personnel. More than 615 million people serve in this country, which makes it possible to create a serious threat to the aggressor countries. It also has a fairly large number of units of military equipment. These are 3569 tanks, 1785 aircraft and 17 submarines. There are also nuclear weapons in this country. According to various sources, India has between 90 and 100 nuclear weapons. With so many troops, India has quiteweak budget. The Indian army annually receives about $46 billion from the state. The developed military industry also helped this country to take the fourth place. Factories for the manufacture of weapons and military equipment are located throughout the country, which makes it possible in case of danger to mobilize them and supplement the already impressive number of military equipment.
5. Small but strong UK
The top five is closed by the army of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. England does not have such impressive military forces as the above-mentioned states, but it will bring a lot of problems to its enemy.
The British Army has close to 29 million soldiers who gave their hearts to the country. There is not much military equipment in this country either. It includes 407 tanks, 908 combat aircraft and 11 submarines. Regarding nuclear weapons, the UK is not so weak. It is ahead of India, as 225 nuclear weapons are stored in the warehouses of military organizations in England.
Also, the UK does not skimp on spending for its army. More than 53 billion dollars are allocated annually from the state budget. Such a large amount brought England to fifth place in this ranking, because the modern army cannot live without huge cash injections for the development of the material and technical base, as well as the training of personnel. Another strong point of Great Britain is the navy. Since this country is located on islands, it must be able to defend itself from the sea, which gives it a great advantage.
6. France
Indicators provided by France,prove that the army of this country is almost as strong as the rest of the armies of the world. Her troop rating en titles her to sixth place on this list.
France has more than 28 million personnel. At its disposal - 423 tanks and 1203 combat aircraft, which is more than the UK. It also surpasses its sea neighbor in terms of the number of nuclear weapons. France has 300 nuclear weapons. The French army also has one aircraft carrier and ten submarines. The budget of the French army is 43 billion dollars, which is significantly lower than that of the UK. A very powerful defense industry also brought France to sixth place, which will allow the country to survive in any local conflict, but France will no longer be able to take the global one.
7. Germany and her army
Germany is in seventh place in the "hit parade" of troops. In its personnel, this country has more than 36 million people, which surpasses both France and Great Britain. Germany has 408 tanks, and 710 combat aircraft. Germany can also include 4 submarines in its military equipment.
Germany is a supporter of nuclear disarmament, so it does not have it at all, like aircraft carriers. The Germans are known throughout the world for their stinginess, but they do not save on their army. The German Armed Forces receive $45 billion a year, which is quite an impressive amount for such an amount of equipment and personnel.
Another rather important military indicator forGermany is its energy independence from Russia, which allows us not to rely on this ally.
8. Turkey is not only a resort paradise
When an ordinary person talks about Turkey, first of all he remembers its resorts. Indeed, this country is famous for its exceptional and affordable holidays. But few people know that the Turkish army is not so weak and is able to stand up for its country. This is due, first of all, to the neighborhood with Syria, and in this country there is a constant war. Therefore, you need to be ready to repel enemy attacks in the future. Another military problem is the conflict with the Kurds. All this makes Turkey constantly take care of the state of its armed forces.
Turkey has more than 41 million personnel, which puts it above Germany, France and the UK. There are enough tanks in this army too. There are 3657 of them, as well as combat aircraft in the amount of 989 units. Turkey is protected from the sea by 14 military submarines. Like Germany, Turkey does not have nuclear weapons and aircraft carriers. Another weakness of this army is a very small budget. It is a little more than $18 billion, which is not much money for such an army. The country's authorities should think about it.
9. South Korea in constant feud
Due to the political situation in North Korea, South is constantly afraid of the "brothers" attack. This fear gives rise to a constant increase in the power of the armed forces.
The South Korean army has more than 25 million people in its personnel. These are highly trained military men, ready to rush to defend their country at any second. Tanks and combat aircraft are also held in high esteem here. The South Korean army has 2346 tanks and 1393 aircraft. Also, this country has 14 submarines in stock, ready to strike from the water. Unfortunately, this country does not have nuclear weapons and aircraft carriers.
The country annually invests $33.7 billion in its army, which is almost 2 times more than Turkey's. From- due to the immediate threat, South Korea is not going to stop building up the military power of its country, as it does not want to be conquered. And the most powerful armies in the world serve as an example for her. The rating of this small but strong-willed army speaks for itself.
10. Japan is a country of advanced technologies
Finishing our top ten is Japan. It is known from history that once this country participated in the Second World War not on the side of the winners. After she nevertheless had to admit defeat, many treaties were signed, which to this day do not allow Japan to build up its military power due to the numerical indicators of both human strength and technology. But everyone knows that the Japanese have long learned to use what nature has given them, namely, the head. Therefore, Japan entered the ranking of the strongest armies in the world not for the quantity, but for the quality of its army.
And yet, Japan has quite good indicators in terms of personnel and weapons. More than 53.6 million people serve in the Japanese army. Japan has 767 tanks, 1595 aircraft, 16submarines and one aircraft carrier. Nuclear weapons, by virtue of capitulation agreements, this country does not possess.
Army funding is constant and amounts to 49.1 billion dollars a year. All these factors make Japan worthy of entering the top ten most powerful armies in the world.
Thus, this rating reflects the trends in the development of weapons of the most powerful countries in the world. There are many opinions about how these countries should be located. But no one can change the top three. Three countries - the US, Russia and China - constantly compete with each other for the championship in this race, but so far no one has managed to overtake the US.
Tiny Israel is also very often included in this top ten. This is a country with a developed military industry. Living in the Middle East, one cannot help but think about the constant threats from the side of neighbors. And for Israel itself, these are not the most peaceful times. A feature of this army, which is discussed around the world, is the mandatory service of all women in the army. And quite a lot of girls stay there on a permanent basis.
But Israel's army is quite small in size - 3.5 million people, and small funding (15 billion dollars) does not allow Israel to enter the top ten. However, the army does not have a shortage of military equipment. There are 3870 tanks, 680 planes, and according to various sources, there are 80 to 100 nuclear weapons. There are 14 submarines in this country. It is in the world list of the most militarized countries in 35th place. But she has one bigpeculiarity. North Korea is the world leader in the number of submarines. There are 78 of them. But the same quality plays a role here. Most of these submarines are almost impossible to use, since the equipment has not been updated for a very long time and is simply outdated after many years of operation. After all, a third of the boats were already quite old, even in the distant 1961, to say nothing of the present. Also an indicator is their range - four miles. At the same time, any American submarine can fire within a radius of 150 miles, which proves the incapacity of the North Korean fleet.
