Time goes forward, the world does not stand still. Humanity has long realized that war only brings destruction and death. But this awareness does not produce the effect that we would like. The globe is engulfed in wars, and even non-waging countries are aware of the existence of many factors that prevent them from relaxing. 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 world's strongest armies looks like.
To make such a list, you need to select a number of criteria by which armies will be evaluated. It:
- maximum draft of people in the army;
- number of tanks;
- number of aircraft;
- nuclear combat power;
- number of aircraft carriers;
- the number of submarines;
- military budget.
It is from such sides that we will consider the armies of the world. The rating of countries is very interesting and, sometimes, predictable. Let's take a closer look at our winners.
1. USA - race winner
This country is very predictably ranked first. If you ask a simple person what the most powerful army in the world is, then fifty percent will say that the US military is right and they will be right.
According to the above characteristics, the United States wins in three. The first of these is the number of aircraft. 13,643 units of aircraft - this is what the U.S. Army can boast of. Also, the undoubted leader in this country is the number of aircraft carriers, there are 10 of them, while in Russia or China, only one each. And the third, probably one of the most important qualities, because of which the United States does not lose ground in the arms race, is the budget. More than 612 billion dollars the White House invests in its army annually, and the US Army proves that it is worth the amount 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 a blow in just a couple of hours after receiving an order.
The Pentagon also does not lag behind in modern military developments, which gives all new, unprecedented until this time, types of weapons that have an ever-increasing power and long range of destruction.
All these factors help to understand that the United States is ahead of all the other armies in the world. The rating is deservedly led by 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 ceased to take 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 the enemies tremble before the Russian army.
Enormous stockpiles of ammunition and military equipment have accumulated in Russia since Soviet times. But that's not all. The Russian army constantly keeps up to date, inventing new weapons, which also elevates it in our ranking.
The army’s budget is more than $ 76 billion, which is 8 times less than the United States. This slows down the development of the military forces of the Russian Federation. 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 were trained and have already been in more than one hassle. They are always ready to faithfully serve the homeland.
The Armed Forces of Russia have different units, which, just get an order, are ready to go into battle and defend their country, be it 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. This army has earned its place because of the large number of troops who defend this country. The personnel of the Chinese army totals more than 749 million people. This is the largest army in the world, judging by human resources.
Also, China is in second place after the United States in financing the army. Every year, the Chinese army receives more than $ 126 billion from the country's budget, which more than provides it with everything necessary.
There are also plenty of military equipment in this country. It is armed with 4.5 thousand armored vehicles, 2 thousand aircraft and 9150 tanks. Nuclear combat power, compared to Russia and the United States, is small, only 250 units, but it can inflict huge damage on an adversary country in the event of a nuclear war. Experts believe that if Russia does not firmly take up the rearmament of its troops, then by 2020 the Chinese army will occupy second place in this rating.
4. India goes forward
India did not reach the prize three. She takes fourth place in the ranking of world armies.
The army of India is second after China in terms of personnel. More than 615 million people serve in this country, which creates 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. Nuclear weapons are also available in this country. According to various sources, there are from 90 to 100 nuclear weapons in India.
With so many troops, India has a rather weak budget. The Indian army receives about $ 46 billion a year from the state. The fourth place in this country was also helped by developed military industry. Factories for the manufacture of weapons and military equipment are located throughout the country, which allows in case of danger to mobilize them and complement the already impressive number of units of military equipment.
5. Small but strong UK
The top five closes the army of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. England does not have such impressive military forces as the aforementioned states, but it will bring many problems to its enemy.
Nearly 29 million soldiers who gave their hearts to the country serve in the British army . This country also has not so much military equipment. It includes 407 tanks, 908 combat aircraft and 11 submarines. With regard to nuclear weapons, the UK is not so weak. It is ahead of India, as 225 units of nuclear weapons are stored in the warehouses of the military organizations of England.
Also, the UK does not skimp on the costs for its army. More than 53 billion dollars are allocated from the state budget per year. Such a large sum brought England to fifth place in this rating, because the modern army cannot live without huge cash injections to develop the material and technical base, as well as the training of personnel. Another strength of the UK is the fleet. Since this country is located on the islands, it must be able to protect itself from the sea, which gives it a great advantage.
6. France
The figures provided by France prove that the army of this country is almost as strong as the other armies of the world. The rating of her troops gives her the right to be in sixth place on this list.
France has over 28 million personnel. At its disposal - 423 tanks and 1203 combat aircraft, which is more than the UK. Also, in terms of nuclear weapons, it surpasses its sea neighbor. France has 300 units of 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 the UK. France also took the sixth place by a very powerful defense industry, which will allow the country to survive in any local conflict, but France will not be pulled into the global one.
7. Germany and its army
In seventh place, the "hit parade" of troops is Germany. In its personnel, this country has more than 36 million people, which surpasses both France and the UK. Germany has 408 tanks, and 710 military 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 worldwide for their stinginess, but they do not save on their army. The German Armed Forces receive $ 45 billion annually, which is a pretty impressive amount for so many equipment and personnel.
Another rather important military indicator for Germany is its energy independence from Russia, which allows us not to hope for this ally.
8. Turkey is not only a resort paradise
When a simple person talks about Turkey, first of all he recalls its resorts. Indeed, this country is famous for its exceptional and inexpensive vacation. But few people know that the Turkish army is not so weak and able to stand up for their country. This is due, first of all, to the proximity to Syria, and war is constantly going on in this country. Therefore, you must be prepared to repel enemy attacks in the future. Another military problem is the conflict with the Kurds. All this makes Turkey constantly care about the state of its armed forces.
Turkey has more than 41 million people, which puts it higher than Germany, France and the UK. There are also enough tanks in this army. There are 3657 of them, as well as military aircraft in the amount of 989 units. From the sea side, Turkey is protected by 14 military submarines. Like Germany, Turkey does not have nuclear weapons or aircraft carriers.
Another weakness of this army is its very small budget. It amounts to a little more than $ 18 billion, which is a little money for such an army. The country's authorities should think about this.
9. South Korea in constant feud
Due to the political situation in North Korea, South constantly fears the attack of the "brothers." This fear gives rise to a constant build-up of the power of the armed forces.
In its personnel, the army of South Korea has more than 25 million people. This is a highly qualified military, ready at any moment to rush to defend their country. Tanks and combat aircraft are also held in high esteem. The South Korean army has 2346 tanks and 1393 aircraft. This country also has in stock 14 submarines ready to strike from the water. Unfortunately, there are no nuclear weapons and aircraft carriers in this country.
The country invests 33.7 billion dollars annually in its army, which is almost 2 times more than that of Turkey.
Due to the immediate threat, South Korea is not going to stop building up its country's military power, as it does not want to be conquered. And an example is the most powerful armies in the world. The rating of this small but loving army speaks for itself.
10. Japan - a country of advanced technology
Closes our top ten Japan. From history it is known that once this country participated in the Second World War not on the side of the victors. After she nevertheless had to admit her 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 forces 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 rating of the strongest armies in the world not for quantity, but for the quality of its army.
Nevertheless, Japan has pretty 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, 16 submarines and one aircraft carrier. By virtue of surrender arrangements, this country does not possess nuclear weapons.
Army funding is ongoing at $ 49.1 billion a year. All these factors make Japan worthy of joining the ten most powerful armies in the world.
Thus, this rating reflects the development trends of weapons of the most powerful countries in the world. There are many opinions on how these countries should be located. But no one can change the top three. Three countries - the USA, Russia and China - are constantly competing with each other for leadership in this race, but so far no one has managed to overtake the USA.
In this ten, tiny Israel is also often entered. This is a country with a developed military industry. Living in the Middle East, one can not help but think about the constant threats from the side of the 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 compulsory service of all women in the army. And quite a lot of girls remain there on an ongoing basis.
But the Israeli army is quite small in size - 3.5 million people, and even small financing ($ 15 billion) prevents Israel from entering the top ten. However, the army has no shortage of military equipment. There are 3870 tanks, 680 aircraft, and nuclear weapons, according to various sources, from 80 to 100. There are 14 submarines in this country.
Finishing this rating, it is also impossible not to mention the well-known North Korea. She is on the 35th place in the world list of the most militarized countries. But she has one big feature. North Korea is the world leader in the number of submarines. There are 78 of them. But here the same quality plays a role. 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 modernity. 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 incapability of the North Korean fleet .