Undoubtedly, every country needs an army to protect its borders, citizens in wars and hard times. Although all countries share the same reasons for having an army, they aren’t the same in the world’s rankings. And certainly, the reason is the several factors that play role in determining the military’s strength. Surprisingly, ranking militaries don’t depend on the quality of physical training their soldiers receive or size of the army, but mainly by the quantity and quality of the military materials they own. You can definitely guess that the US army comes at the top of this list. but you might be surprised who the rivals are.
10 Turkey
Although it has one of the largest armed forces in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey is ranked as the tenth army, probably due to their lack of aircraft carriers. Nevertheless, Turkey still has a fairly large tank fleet and a great number of aircraft and helicopters; 1,020 aircraft and 3,778 tanks; It also has 410,500 active frontline personnel and 13 submarines; they own submarines more than many countries on this list. The military budget of Turkey is almost $18.2 billion.
9 The UK
The UK has fairly large armed forces, but they have been trying, since 2010, to reduce it 20%, and expect to accomplish it by next year. This can happen by dispensing its forces widely across the globe. The United Kingdom’s military budget is almost $60.5 bn; it owns around 146,980 active frontline personnel as well as 407 tanks, 936 aircraft, and 10 submarines.
8 Italy
The Italian army might not be the best in quantitative terms, but owning two active aircraft carriers, fairly large submarine and attack helicopter fleets have dramatically boosted their rank, especially knowing that they don’t have high military budget compared to all the other armies. Italian army’s budget is $34 bn. They also have 320,000 active front line personnel as well as 586 tanks, 760 total aircraft, and 6 submarines.
7 South Korea
Since Korea is a place suffers from civil war, the aggression and hostility of North Korea urged South Korea to form a large and well-trained army. It has a military budget similar to that of France, which is almost $62.3 bn. South Korea owns 624,465 active front line personnel, 2,381 tanks, 1,412 aircraft, and 13 submarines. Its Army might be ranked as the seventh, but it has the sixth largest air force on the planet.
6 France
For the second year respectively, France has maintained its position as the sixth most powerful armed forces in the world. France does not have a large military, however, their forces are known to be professional, efficient and perfectly trained. The French military is one of the most armies that get involved in routine deployment, particularly across Africa. It has a budget of $62.3 bn, and owns 202,761 active front line personnel, 423 tanks, 1,264 aircraft, and 10 submarines.
5 India
One more Asian country strikes the list. India’s armed forces are considered among the largest forces in the whole world. It has the most dynamic power on the planet right after the US and China. It is also the possessor of the largest number of tanks and air crafts after the US, China, and Russia; 6,464 tanks and a 1,905 air crafts. The Indian army owns 1,325,000 active front line personnel, about 15 submarines and, moreover, admittance to nuclear weapons. Its budget is almost $50 bn.
4 Japan
Despite the fact that the Japanese army is deemed to be small, the country itself is exceptionally well-resourced. Japan has around $41.6 bn military budget. Their army owns about 247,173 active front line personnel, 1,613 air crafts, 16 submarines, and 678 tanks. Japan might not possess a relatively large amount of military materials compared other countries, but it still has the largest submarine and attacking helicopter fleets right after China.
3 China
The armed forces of China have developed swiftly and efficiently throughout the past few years. It became a rival of the world’s top military forces, and the third strongest army right after the United States and Russia. China spends almost $216 bn on its defense annually, which is a far higher budget than Russia’s. The Chinese army owns 2,333,000 active front line personnel as well as 2,860 air crafts, 9,150 tanks, and 67 submarines.
2 Russia
Unquestionably Russia’s army deserves to be the second strongest one. The Russians’ military budget is about $84.5 bn. They own about 766,055 active front line personnel, 15,398 tanks along with 55 submarines, and 3,429 aircraft as a total. The armed forces of Russia are undoubtedly one of the strongest ground forces in the world, and inconceivable rival of the US. Russia leaped up to this advanced place after being ranked as the fourth in 2015.
1 The USA
Here’s why the US army is at the very top of this list: America spends an average of $601 bn as a military budget; the American army owns about 1,400,00 active front line personnel, 13,892 aircraft, 72 submarines and 8,848 tanks; besides, it has a great number of well-trained soldiers, its operational services burn more than 22 gallons of fuel on a daily basis and it owns a great scale of land. And since everything about the army rankings is determined in quantitative terms, the number of reserve soldiers and the already active-duty ones exceeds the million. It is said that the American military is the second largest employer, right after Walmart.
