The Strongest Militaries in the World, Ranked

By Chris Lange Published Jun 4, 10:10AM EDT

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The Strongest Militaries in the World, Ranked — © Spencer Platt / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Despite recent attempts from President Biden to arrange a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, negotiations have not yet been reached. The war began in October 2023 when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking hostages. Israel’s response came on strong and deadly, with the Hamas-run ministry stating over 36,000 have been killed across Gaza since then, and more than 1.7 million displaced from their homes. Israel has one of the strongest militaries in the world and is capable of continuing the fighting for a long time to come. Israel is one of the many nations around the world with large and well-equipped armed forces. (These are the nations with the largest active duty militaries.)

24/7 Wall St. took a deep dive into identifying the 30 countries with the strongest military forces. We compiled data from the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. This report ranked 145 countries based on PowerIndex, a combination of over 60 categories, including military power, logistical capability, geography, and financial strength. The lower the PowerIndex value score, the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability.

The United States is known as the top military power in the world with its large and well-equipped armed forces. Additionally, Russia is another superpower holding second place behind the U.S. Russia holds extensive land power and a technologically advanced arsenal.

Rounding out the top three is China, which has been investing heavily in modernizing its military, specifically its navy. As the third most potent military in the world, the People’s Liberation Army is focused on expanding its capabilities regionally and beyond. Recently, China’s production of new aircraft carriers and a series of support ships has been a prime directive.

The world’s strongest militaries possess diverse capabilities and strengths but also have some commonalities. Notably, countries towards the top of this have much larger military budgets and tend to have much larger air forces. (These are the countries with the most tanks.)

Here is a look at the strongest militaries in the world:

Why We’re Writing About World Militaries

World map, Earth flat view. Detailed World physical map in satellite photo. Panoramic planet map with texture surface and ocean. Globe and planisphere theme. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Countries with powerful military forces exert considerable influence over global events. These are the countries whose cooperation is needed to solve world problems. 24/7 Wall St. wants its readers to be aware of which countries have the strongest influence over global issues.

30. Singapore

Singapore’s PowerIndex score is 0.4087. Its military includes 51,000 total personnel, 247 total aircraft, 8,318 vehicles, and 43 navy ships and submarines.

29. Sweden

Sweden’s PowerIndex score is 0.4009. Its military includes 24,400 total personnel, 212 total aircraft, 7,958 vehicles, and 353 navy ships and submarines.

28. Argentina

Argentina’s PowerIndex score is 0.3823. Its military includes 108,000 total personnel, 229 total aircraft, 21,724 vehicles, and 41 navy ships and submarines.

27. Canada

Canada’s PowerIndex score is 0.3813. Its military includes 68,000 total personnel, 375 total aircraft, 18,054 vehicles, and 67 navy ships and submarines.

26. Algeria

Arlgeria’s PowerIndex score is 0.3589. Its military includes 325,000 total personnel, 605 total aircraft, 35,990 vehicles, and 213 navy ships and submarines.

25. Thailand

Thailand’s PowerIndex score is 0.3389. Its military includes 360,850 total personnel, 501 total aircraft, 14,040 vehicles, and 293 navy ships and submarines.

24. Taiwan

Taiwan’s PowerIndex score is 0.3302. Its military includes 215,000 total personnel, 750 total aircraft, 19,868 vehicles, and 93 navy ships and submarines.

23. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s PowerIndex score is 0.3235. Its military includes 257,000 total personnel, 915 total aircraft, 20,694 vehicles, and 57 navy ships and submarines.

22. Vietnam

Vietnam’s PowerIndex score is 0.3158. Its military includes 600,000 total personnel, 226 total aircraft, 18,578 vehicles, and 97 navy ships and submarines.

21. Poland

Poland’s PowerIndex score is 0.2917. Its military includes 202,100 total personnel, 468 total aircraft, 13,956 vehicles, and 45 navy ships and submarines.

20. Spain

Spain’s PowerIndex score is 0.2882. Its military includes 133,282 total personnel, 513 total aircraft, 15,046 vehicles, and 168 navy ships and submarines.

19. Germany

Germany’s PowerIndex score is 0.2847. Its military includes 181,600 total personnel, 618 total aircraft, 79,317 vehicles, and 64 navy ships and submarines.

18. Ukraine

Ukraine’s PowerIndex score is 0.2598. Its military includes 900,000 total personnel, 321 total aircraft, 22,110 vehicles, and 104 navy ships and submarines.

17. Israel

Israel’s PowerIndex score is 0.2596. Its military includes 170,000 total personnel, 612 total aircraft, 43,407 vehicles, and 67 navy ships and submarines.

16. Australia

Australia’s PowerIndex score is 0.2515. Its military includes 57,350 total personnel, 325 total aircraft, 16,162 vehicles, and 43 navy ships and submarines.

15. Egypt

Egypt’s PowerIndex score is 0.2283. Its military includes 440,000 total personnel, 1,080 total aircraft, 77,596 vehicles, and 140 navy ships and submarines.

14. Iran

Iran’s PowerIndex score is 0.2269. Its military includes 610,000 total personnel, 551 total aircraft, 65,765 vehicles, and 101 navy ships and submarines.

13. Indonesia

Indonesia’s PowerIndex score is 0.2251. Its military includes 400,000 total personnel, 474 total aircraft, 11,604 vehicles, and 333 navy ships and submarines.

12. Brazil

Brazil’s PowerIndex score is 0.1944. Its military includes 360,000 total personnel, 628 total aircraft, 44,044 vehicles, and 134 navy ships and submarines.

11. France

France’s PowerIndex score is 0.1878. Its military includes 200,000 total personnel, 972 total aircraft, 85,023 vehicles, and 128 navy ships and submarines.

10. Italy

Italy’s PowerIndex score is 0.1863. Its military includes 165,500 total personnel, 800 total aircraft, 61,892 vehicles, and 309 navy ships and submarines.

9. Pakistan

Pakistan’s PowerIndex score is 0.1711. Its military includes 654,000 total personnel, 1,434 total aircraft, 50,523 vehicles, and 114 navy ships and submarines.

8. Turkey

Turkey’s PowerIndex score is 0.1697. Its military includes 355,200 total personnel, 1,069 total aircraft, 55,104 vehicles, and 186 navy ships and submarines.

7. Japan

Japan’s PowerIndex score is 0.1601. Its military includes 247,150 total personnel, 1,459 total aircraft, 37,662 vehicles, and 155 navy ships and submarines.

6. United Kingdom

The United Kingdom’s PowerIndex score is 0.1443. Its military includes 184,860 total personnel, 664 total aircraft, 27,203 vehicles, and 117 navy ships and submarines.

5. South Korea

South Korea’s PowerIndex score is 0.1416. Its military includes 600,000 total personnel, 1,576 total aircraft, 66,492 vehicles, and 200 navy ships and submarines.

4. India

India’s PowerIndex score is 0.1023. Its military includes 1,455,550 total personnel, 2,296 total aircraft, 151,248 vehicles, and 294 navy ships and submarines.

3. China

China’s PowerIndex score is 0.0706. Its military includes 2,035,000 total personnel, 3,304 total aircraft, 174,300 vehicles, and 730 navy ships and submarines.

2. Russia

Russia’s PowerIndex score is 0.0702. Its military includes 1,320,000 total personnel, 4,255 total aircraft, 161,382 vehicles, and 781 navy ships and submarines.

1. United States

The United States’ PowerIndex score is 0.0699. Its military includes 1,328,000 total personnel, 13,209 total aircraft, 360,069 vehicles, and 472 navy ships and submarines.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.