Military · strength ranking

Strongest Military in the World: Military Strength Ranking

Q: Which country has the strongest military?

The United States ranks first in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, followed by Russia, China, India and United Kingdom.

The world's armed forces compared: overall military strength, the size of armies, air forces and navies, and how much each country spends on defence. 145 countries, 25 rankings.

$2.84 trillion

World military spending (latest year)

$954.4 billion

Biggest budget: United States

2,000,000

Largest army: China

12,566

Most tanks: Russia

World map of military strength

Top 5%
Top 15%
Top 30%
Top half
Lower half
Bottom 25%

Military strength ranking

Rank	Country	Power index	Active personnel	Aircraft	Tanks	Budget
1	United States	0.0712	1,390,000	13,300	5,500	$954.4 billion
2	Russia	0.0714	830,900	4,182	12,566	$190.4 billion
3	China	0.0722	2,000,000	3,166	4,950	$335.5 billion
4	India	0.1025	1,450,000	2,210	4,614	$92.1 billion
5	United Kingdom	0.1435	194,000	663	227	$89.0 billion
6	South Korea	0.1505	555,000	1,602	2,331	$47.8 billion
7	Pakistan	0.1694	654,000	1,413	3,742	$11.9 billion
8	Japan	0.1711	240,000	1,451	1,004	$62.2 billion
9	France	0.1848	205,000	1,004	222	$68.0 billion
10	Italy	0.1973	170,000	850	197	$48.1 billion
11	Türkiye	0.2016	425,000	1,065	2,229	$30.0 billion
12	Brazil	0.2151	360,000	665	466	$23.9 billion
13	Indonesia	0.2221	400,000	466	314	$15.0 billion
14	Egypt	0.2224	440,000	1,069	4,664	$2.5 billion
15	Ukraine	0.2516	200,000	312	1,890	$84.1 billion
16	Australia	0.2567	60,500	353	59	$35.3 billion
17	Iran	0.2712	575,000	541	4,071	$7.4 billion
18	Israel	0.2757	173,000	601	2,200	$48.3 billion
19	Vietnam	0.2855	470,000	223	1,829	$10.5 billion
20	Poland	0.3406	120,000	459	569	$46.8 billion
21	Spain	0.3556	120,000	517	327	$40.2 billion
22	Saudi Arabia	0.3626	225,000	897	1,273	$83.2 billion
23	Taiwan	0.3639	170,000	737	1,012	—
24	Thailand	0.3738	350,000	488	587	$6.0 billion
25	Germany	0.3881	184,000	601	266	$113.6 billion
26	Algeria	0.3911	130,000	547	1,700	$25.4 billion
27	Canada	0.3956	70,000	376	82	$37.5 billion
28	Argentina	0.4243	83,000	228	414	$3.9 billion
29	Singapore	0.4613	60,000	248	170	$17.4 billion
30	Greece	0.4621	130,000	635	1,365	$8.4 billion
31	Mexico	0.4687	250,000	468	0	$13.6 billion
32	Philippines	0.4811	101,000	188	0	$6.4 billion
33	South Africa	0.4885	40,200	226	195	$3.2 billion
34	North Korea	0.5118	1,200,000	947	6,645	—
35	Norway	0.5289	23,000	100	52	$17.0 billion
36	Nigeria	0.5587	135,000	144	177	$2.1 billion
37	Sweden	0.5679	16,000	205	121	$16.5 billion
38	Myanmar	0.5768	400,000	280	715	$5.0 billion
39	Netherlands	0.5801	35,000	136	18	$28.9 billion
40	Bangladesh	0.5871	165,000	204	281	$3.8 billion
41	Portugal	0.6116	27,000	104	37	$5.9 billion
42	Malaysia	0.6189	85,000	147	48	$4.9 billion
43	Colombia	0.7011	360,000	465	0	$14.5 billion
44	Switzerland	0.7191	24,000	148	380	$7.6 billion
45	Iraq	0.7365	200,000	361	923	$6.4 billion
46	Chile	0.7712	80,000	289	270	$5.3 billion
47	Romania	0.7735	67,000	146	413	$9.7 billion
48	Czechia	0.7849	26,000	97	50	$7.1 billion
49	Ethiopia	0.7979	150,000	89	468	$528 million
50	Denmark	0.8011	16,000	115	44	$14.9 billion
51	Finland	0.8099	24,000	166	239	$8.1 billion
52	Venezuela	0.8228	137,500	250	352	—
53	Peru	0.8466	95,000	246	261	$2.6 billion
54	Hungary	0.8643	23,000	57	176	$5.0 billion
55	Angola	0.8732	107,000	302	156	$1.5 billion
56	United Arab Emirates	0.8978	65,000	565	274	—
57	Azerbaijan	0.9391	65,000	148	920	$4.9 billion
58	Serbia	0.9571	25,000	117	242	$2.8 billion
59	Bulgaria	0.9757	25,000	66	410	$2.6 billion
60	Belarus	1.0485	45,000	191	862	$1.9 billion
61	Morocco	1.0524	200,000	250	1,761	$6.3 billion
62	Uzbekistan	1.0692	55,000	197	420	—
63	Kazakhstan	1.0873	45,000	237	300	$1.3 billion
64	Syria	1.1095	100,000	453	2,616	—
65	Qatar	1.1296	66,550	198	138	$15.4 billion
66	Cuba	1.1523	50,000	80	1,230	—
67	Slovakia	1.1789	13,000	48	30	$3.1 billion
68	Belgium	1.1836	26,000	106	0	$14.5 billion
69	Croatia	1.2141	15,000	80	75	$2.1 billion
70	Ecuador	1.2181	70,000	118	110	$2.7 billion
71	Sri Lanka	1.2478	250,000	86	182	$1.4 billion
72	DR Congo	1.3055	140,000	46	214	$1.2 billion
73	Tunisia	1.3243	90,000	152	145	$1.5 billion
74	Yemen	1.3985	45,000	177	100	—
75	Sudan	1.4079	100,000	191	170	$369 million
76	Oman	1.4081	40,000	128	121	$6.0 billion
77	Bolivia	1.4339	60,000	64	36	$688 million
78	Kuwait	1.4441	17,000	114	367	$8.1 billion
79	Bahrain	1.4511	20,000	116	180	$1.5 billion
80	Libya	1.4718	100,000	127	325	$1.6 billion
81	Jordan	1.5098	90,000	256	1,588	$2.6 billion
82	Turkmenistan	1.5986	30,000	86	680	—
83	Uganda	1.6264	47,000	50	180	$1.3 billion
84	Austria	1.6543	23,000	101	56	$6.4 billion
85	Georgia	1.7181	61,200	66	243	$658 million
86	Slovenia	1.7261	7,000	37	48	$1.2 billion
87	Kenya	1.7701	35,000	156	111	$1.5 billion
88	Paraguay	1.7863	20,000	39	10	$421 million
89	Zambia	1.7896	16,500	98	75	$406 million
90	Ireland	1.8161	8,700	23	0	$1.6 billion
91	Albania	1.8466	8,000	19	40	$624 million
92	Honduras	1.8851	16,000	43	22	$580 million
93	Lithuania	1.9026	16,000	10	0	$3.0 billion
94	Armenia	1.9137	45,000	64	519	$1.7 billion
95	Latvia	1.9161	6,500	4	0	$1.7 billion
96	Uruguay	1.9269	22,000	52	17	$2.0 billion
97	Chad	1.9751	35,000	34	90	$649 million
98	Zimbabwe	1.9787	30,000	90	40	$160 million
99	Mongolia	2.0263	35,000	11	470	$221 million
100	Cameroon	2.0296	40,000	31	0	$627 million
101	Tanzania	2.0387	26,000	40	42	$1.0 billion
102	Guatemala	2.0419	21,500	34	12	$633 million
103	New Zealand	2.0617	9,600	45	0	$2.9 billion
104	Estonia	2.0686	4,000	6	0	$1.6 billion
105	Côte d'Ivoire	2.0881	25,000	6	10	$759 million
106	Cambodia	2.1321	100,000	24	644	$739 million
107	Kyrgyzstan	2.1703	15,000	6	215	$601 million
108	North Macedonia	2.1717	9,000	20	31	$375 million
109	Ghana	2.1741	14,000	20	0	$507 million
110	Mali	2.1992	18,000	39	50	$953 million
111	Lebanon	2.2381	80,000	78	361	$828 million
112	Mozambique	2.2895	12,000	19	186	$468 million
113	Eritrea	2.2956	175,000	33	1,756	—
114	Afghanistan	2.3118	0	0	0	$278 million
115	Laos	2.3168	30,000	34	130	—
116	South Sudan	2.5261	175,000	18	120	$178 million
117	Nicaragua	2.5685	24,000	16	198	$116 million
118	Dominican Republic	2.5742	60,000	63	12	$1.0 billion
119	Niger	2.6327	10,000	16	0	$489 million
120	Tajikistan	2.6403	9,500	25	37	$247 million
121	Burkina Faso	2.6607	12,000	20	0	$892 million
122	Republic of the Congo	2.6648	12,000	13	53	$205 million
123	Namibia	2.7081	12,500	32	20	$411 million
124	Botswana	2.7851	9,000	46	45	$614 million
125	Senegal	2.7961	17,000	27	0	$567 million
126	Luxembourg	2.8202	1,000	1	0	$855 million
127	El Salvador	2.8583	21,000	46	0	$490 million
128	Montenegro	2.8704	2,500	11	0	$177 million
129	Nepal	2.8728	95,000	15	0	$428 million
130	Madagascar	2.9078	13,000	4	386	$120 million
131	Gabon	2.9235	6,500	23	0	$356 million
132	Mauritania	3.0398	31,500	23	0	$322 million
133	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.0788	9,000	22	124	$231 million
134	Kosovo	3.2863	5,000	0	0	$235 million
135	Panama	3.2877	0	41	0	$0
136	Central African Republic	3.2931	10,000	3	3	$74 million
137	Iceland	3.4845	0	0	0	$0
138	Sierra Leone	3.5241	13,000	4	2	$32 million
139	Belize	3.7178	2,000	2	0	$33 million
140	Suriname	4.0003	1,800	3	0	—
141	Liberia	4.0006	2,000	0	0	$44 million
142	Somalia	4.0196	17,500	0	0	$199 million
143	Moldova	4.0861	6,000	3	0	$113 million
144	Benin	4.1269	5,000	2	0	$217 million
145	Bhutan	6.2017	8,000	2	0	—

Power index, personnel and equipment: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking. Budget: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0), latest year.

All military rankings

Who has the most powerful military?

The United States, Russia and China top the military strength ranking, with power-index scores of 0.0712, 0.0714 and 0.0722 — the lower the score, the stronger the military. The strongest military on each continent: United States (Americas), Russia (Europe), China (Asia), Egypt (Africa) and Australia (Oceania).

Military spending

Countries spent about $2.84 trillion on their militaries in the latest year. United States alone accounts for 34% of that, and the ten biggest spenders together for 73%. Relative to the size of the economy, the heaviest burden is carried by Ukraine, Algeria and Israel.

How to read these rankings

Numbers alone do not win wars: training, technology, logistics, alliances and nuclear deterrence matter as much as the count of tanks or ships. Equipment totals include units in reserve and storage, and figures for secretive states are estimates. Use the rankings to compare scale — then open a country profile for its forces, service rules, deployments and spending trend.

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the strongest military?

The United States ranks first in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, followed by Russia, China, India and United Kingdom.

Which country spends the most on its military?

United States spends the most — $954.4 billion in 2025. The ten biggest spenders account for 72% of world military spending.

Which country has the largest army?

China has the most active military personnel: 2,000,000.

What is the military power index?

Global Firepower combines more than 60 factors — personnel, equipment, logistics, finances, geography and natural resources — into one score. A lower score means a stronger military; a perfect score would be 0.0000.