Global economics and military strength are highly intertwined. Having the cash to finance an army is paramount to a country’s standing on the world stage. At the center of this is a nation’s foreign exchange and gold reserves. These economic assets provide strategic advantages in times of geopolitical tension. Here, 24/7 Wall St. exploring the countries with the largest foreign exchange and gold reserves.
To determine the countries with the most foreign exchange and gold reserves in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We ranked these countries based on their foreign exchange and gold reserves. We also included supplemental information regarding purchasing power parity, defense budgets, external debt, a composition of military assets, as well as the overall military strength score.
Here is a look at the military powers with the most foreign exchange and gold reserves in the world:
Why Are We Covering This?
Understanding global military dynamics is incredibly important due to the interconnected nature of international relations and conflicts. As long as civilization has existed, the world has witnessed shifting power balances and alliances which have ultimately shaped the current geopolitical landscape. While key players like the United States, China, and Russia are considered the strongest military powers in the world, there are a number of other nations with their own spheres of influence and strengths that impact global relations from a military perspective.
30. Spain
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $103,089,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,242,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $23,397,000,000 – #22 out of 145
- External debt: $2,572,738,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 461
- Total military vehicles: 17,626
- Total naval vessels: 152
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3242 – #17 out of 145
Spain also has 226,902 total military personnel, which is composed of 133,282 active personnel, 15,150 reserves, and 78,470 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 47.28 million, and of these 17,635,602 are fit for military service.
29. Philippines
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $103,742,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,138,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $4,380,000,000 – #55 out of 145
- External debt: $90,200,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 202
- Total military vehicles: 11,878
- Total naval vessels: 113
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6987 – #41 out of 145
Philippines also has 1,385,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 150,000 active personnel, 1,200,000 reserves, and 35,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 118.28 million, and of these 41,751,803 are fit for military service.
28. Denmark
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $109,371,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $428,385,000,000
- Military defense budget: $7,225,466,250 – #40 out of 145
- External debt: $555,500,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total military vehicles: 3,856
- Total naval vessels: 50
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8109 – #45 out of 145
Denmark also has 83,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 20,000 active personnel, 12,000 reserves, and 51,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 5.973 million, and of these 2,126,436 are fit for military service.
27. Iraq
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $112,233,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $572,939,000,000
- Military defense budget: $7,923,000,000 – #37 out of 145
- External debt: $45,032,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 391
- Total military vehicles: 37,288
- Total naval vessels: 68
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7738 – #43 out of 145
Iraq also has 293,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 193,000 active personnel and 100,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 42.08 million, and of these 14,308,368 are fit for military service.
26. Malaysia
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $113,438,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,152,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $4,800,000,000 – #50 out of 145
- External debt: $247,500,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 135
- Total military vehicles: 13,506
- Total naval vessels: 100
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7429 – #42 out of 145
Malaysia also has 264,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 113,000 active personnel, 51,600 reserves, and 100,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 34.56 million, and of these 13,480,276 are fit for military service.
25. Canada
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $117,551,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,238,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $41,000,000,000 – #15 out of 145
- External debt: $2,337,375,700,000
- Total military aircraft: 351
- Total military vehicles: 21,704
- Total naval vessels: 73
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5179 – #28 out of 145
Canada also has 100,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 68,000 active personnel, 27,000 reserves, and 5,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 38.79 million, and of these 13,500,595 are fit for military service.
24. Iran
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $120,600,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,440,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $15,450,000,000 – #25 out of 145
- External debt: $4,134,926,000
- Total military aircraft: 551
- Total military vehicles: 65,825
- Total naval vessels: 107
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3048 – #16 out of 145
Iran also has 1,180,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 610,000 active personnel, 350,000 reserves, and 220,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 88.39 million, and of these 41,541,860 are fit for military service.
23. Turkey
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $140,858,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,936,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $47,000,000,000 – #13 out of 145
- External debt: $294,441,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,083
- Total military vehicles: 61,173
- Total naval vessels: 182
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1902 – #9 out of 145
Turkey also has 883,900 total military personnel, which is composed of 355,200 active personnel, 378,700 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 84.12 million, and of these 36,087,279 are fit for military service.
22. Indonesia
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $146,359,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,906,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $10,600,000,000 – #29 out of 145
- External debt: $440,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 459
- Total military vehicles: 20,440
- Total naval vessels: 331
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2557 – #13 out of 145
Indonesia also has 1,050,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 400,000 active personnel, 400,000 reserves, and 250,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 281.56 million, and of these 114,595,923 are fit for military service.
21. Czechia
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $148,379,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $519,007,000,000
- Military defense budget: $6,750,000,000 – #43 out of 145
- External debt: $211,200,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 99
- Total military vehicles: 6,340
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.9994 – #53 out of 145
Czechia also has 32,200 total military personnel, which is composed of 28,000 active personnel and 4,200 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.84 million, and of these 4,129,236 are fit for military service.
20. United Kingdom
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $177,915,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,700,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $71,500,540,000 – #6 out of 145
- External debt: $9,593,749,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 631
- Total military vehicles: 38,200
- Total naval vessels: 109
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1785 – #6 out of 145
The United Kingdom also has 1,108,860 total military personnel, which is composed of 184,860 active personnel and 924,000 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 68.46 million, and of these 25,192,932 are fit for military service.
19. United Arab Emirates
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $189,491,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $719,733,000,000
- Military defense budget: $2,212,360,382 – #70 out of 145
- External debt: $264,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 551
- Total military vehicles: 8,707
- Total naval vessels: 181
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0186 – #54 out of 145
The United Arab Emirates also has 207,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 65,000 active personnel, 130,000 reserves, and 12,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.03 million, and of these 4,945,881 are fit for military service.
18. Poland
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $193,783,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,616,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $48,700,000,000 – #12 out of 145
- External debt: $386,947,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 479
- Total military vehicles: 23,138
- Total naval vessels: 62
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3776 – #22 out of 145
Poland also has 602,100 total military personnel, which is composed of 202,100 active personnel, 350,000 reserves, and 50,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 38.75 million, and of these 15,576,017 are fit for military service.
17. Israel
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $204,661,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $471,030,000,000
- Military defense budget: $30,500,000,000 – #17 out of 145
- External debt: $148,500,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 611
- Total military vehicles: 35,985
- Total naval vessels: 62
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2661 – #15 out of 145
Israel also has 670,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 170,000 active personnel, 465,000 reserves, and 35,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 9.403 million, and of these 3,281,513 are fit for military service.
16. Mexico
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $214,317,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,873,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $7,600,000,000 – #39 out of 145
- External debt: $371,359,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 433
- Total military vehicles: 19,658
- Total naval vessels: 167
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5965 – #32 out of 145
Mexico also has 630,655 total military personnel, which is composed of 412,000 active personnel, 98,655 reserves, and 120,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 130.74 million, and of these 49,811,912 are fit for military service.
15. Thailand
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $224,470,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,516,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $5,887,883,500 – #45 out of 145
- External debt: $102,694,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 493
- Total military vehicles: 16,935
- Total naval vessels: 293
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4536 – #26 out of 145
Thailand also has 585,850 total military personnel, which is composed of 360,850 active personnel, 200,000 reserves, and 25,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 69.92 million, and of these 27,968,399 are fit for military service.
14. France
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $240,792,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,764,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $55,000,000,000 – #9 out of 145
- External debt: $6,992,104,900,000
- Total military aircraft: 976
- Total military vehicles: 110,932
- Total naval vessels: 129
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1878 – #8 out of 145
France also has 376,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 200,000 active personnel, 26,000 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 68.37 million, and of these 23,794,358 are fit for military service.
13. Italy
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $247,396,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $3,097,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $30,890,000,000 – #16 out of 145
- External debt: $2,750,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 729
- Total military vehicles: 73,480
- Total naval vessels: 196
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2164 – #10 out of 145
Italy also has 289,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 165,500 active personnel, 18,500 reserves, and 105,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 60.96 million, and of these 22,191,235 are fit for military service.
12. Germany
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $322,700,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $5,230,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $50,000,000,000 – #11 out of 145
- External debt: $6,238,609,300,000
- Total military aircraft: 584
- Total military vehicles: 83,260
- Total naval vessels: 61
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2601 – #14 out of 145
Germany also has 215,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 181,600 active personnel and 34,000 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 84.12 million, and of these 30,955,829 are fit for military service.
11. Brazil
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $355,021,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $4,016,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $26,157,300,000 – #19 out of 145
- External debt: $432,224,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total military vehicles: 22,464
- Total naval vessels: 64
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2415 – #11 out of 145
Brazil also has 900,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 360,000 active personnel, 340,000 reserves, and 200,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 220.05 million, and of these 88,680,759 are fit for military service.
10. Singapore
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $359,835,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $754,758,000,000
- Military defense budget: $15,000,000,000 – #26 out of 145
- External debt: $1,713,410,600,000
- Total military aircraft: 230
- Total military vehicles: 8,998
- Total naval vessels: 50
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5271 – #29 out of 145
Singapore also has 315,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 51,000 active personnel, 252,500 reserves, and 12,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 6.028 million, and of these 2,628,408 are fit for military service.
9. South Korea
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $420,930,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $2,615,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $46,300,000,000 – #14 out of 145
- External debt: $503,519,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,592
- Total military vehicles: 58,880
- Total naval vessels: 227
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1656 – #5 out of 145
South Korea also has 3,820,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 600,000 active personnel, 3,100,000 reserves, and 120,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 52.08 million, and of these 21,353,538 are fit for military service.
8. Saudi Arabia
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $457,949,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,831,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $74,760,000,000 – #5 out of 145
- External debt: $225,610,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 917
- Total military vehicles: 19,040
- Total naval vessels: 32
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4201 – #25 out of 145
Saudi Arabia also has 407,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 257,000 active personnel and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 36.54 million, and of these 17,468,238 are fit for military service.
7. Taiwan
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $492,635,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $1,257,300,000,000
- Military defense budget: $19,740,000,000 – #23 out of 145
- External debt: $209,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 761
- Total military vehicles: 19,921
- Total naval vessels: 97
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3988 – #23 out of 145
Taiwan also has 2,580,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 215,000 active personnel, 2,310,000 reserves, and 55,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 23.60 million.
6. Russia
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $597,217,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $5,816,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $126,000,000,000 – #3 out of 145
- External debt: $317,650,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 4,292
- Total military vehicles: 131,527
- Total naval vessels: 419
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.0788 – #2 out of 145
Russia also has 3,570,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 1,320,000 active personnel, 2,000,000 reserves, and 250,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 140.82 million, and of these 46,189,226 are fit for military service.
5. India
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $627,793,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $13,104,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $75,000,000,000 – #4 out of 145
- External debt: $371,020,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 2,229
- Total military vehicles: 148,594
- Total naval vessels: 293
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1184 – #4 out of 145
India also has 5,137,550 total military personnel, which is composed of 1,455,550 active personnel, 1,155,000 reserves, and 2,527,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 1.409 billion, and of these 522,786,598 are fit for military service.
4. United States
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $773,426,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $24,662,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $895,000,000,000 – #1 out of 145
- External debt: $22,303,546,100,000
- Total military aircraft: 13,043
- Total military vehicles: 391,963
- Total naval vessels: 440
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.0744 – #1 out of 145
The United States also has 2,127,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 1,328,000 active personnel and 799,500 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 341.96 million, and of these 124,816,644 are fit for military service.
3. Switzerland
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $863,892,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $733,779,000,000
- Military defense budget: $25,039,000,000 – #20 out of 145
- External debt: $2,200,000,000,000
- Total military aircraft: 146
- Total military vehicles: 6,996
- Total naval vessels: 0
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7869 – #44 out of 145
Switzerland also has 156,299 total military personnel, which is composed of 101,584 active personnel, 49,715 reserves, and 5,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 8.861 million, and of these 3,163,225 are fit for military service.
2. Japan
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $1,295,000,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $5,761,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $57,000,000,000 – #7 out of 145
- External debt: $4,679,698,100,000
- Total military aircraft: 1,443
- Total military vehicles: 31,964
- Total naval vessels: 159
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1839 – #7 out of 145
Japan also has 328,150 total military personnel, which is composed of 247,150 active personnel, 56,000 reserves, and 25,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 123.2 million, and of these 42,874,277 are fit for military service.
1. China
- Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $3,450,000,000,000
- Purchasing power parity: $31,227,000,000,000
- Military defense budget: $266,850,000,000 – #2 out of 145
- External debt: $1,218,458,500,000
- Total military aircraft: 3,309
- Total military vehicles: 144,017
- Total naval vessels: 754
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.0788 – #3 out of 145
China also has 3,170,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 2,035,000 active personnel, 510,000 reserves, and 625,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 1.415 billion, and of these 626,864,169 are fit for military service.
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