Special Report

These Countries Own the Most Military Submarines: See Where the US Ranks

Serega / iStock via Getty Images

Submarines are some of the most important military assets among countries that possess them. Throughout naval arsenals around the world, these submarines act as a strategic deterrence from the encroachment of foreign powers. Whether as a nuclear deterrent or just to keep enemy ships at bay, submarines provide incredible utility to any navy that can field them.

On the world stage, these submarines could easily shift the balance of power in one swift attack as many are carrying nuclear warheads capable of hitting targets thousands of miles away. The U.S. Navy relies on a series of these subs particularly for that reason, but many other nations have submarine fleets of their own capable of significant destruction as well. (This is the Navy’s hidden arsenal: submarines and underwater military tech of today.)

To determine the country with the most military submarines, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed GlobalFirePower, an annually-updated website tracking defense-related statistics of 145 nations. Countries were ranked by the number of military submarines in active service, and only countries with four or more submarines were considered for the list. We also added the GlobalFirePower PowerIndex score, which denotes a country’s overall military strength, with lower scores denoting greater power. We included supplemental information regarding total naval fleet size per country and the types of submarines in each fleet.

While the United States is widely regarded as having one of the strongest navies in the world, it does not in fact have the most submarines in its arsenal. However, what it does have is some of the most technologically advanced submarines on the planet, making it a formidable naval force for any rival nation to come up against. (This country has the largest navy in the world.)

It’s worth noting that the countries that have the stronger GlobalFirePower PowerIndex scores (scores closer to zero) tend to have more submarines. And unsurprisingly, countries that spend more on their military tend to have more submarines.

Here is a look at the countries with the most military submarines:

30. Peru

usnavy / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 69 – #43 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.8475 – #53 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Type 209/1200-class

29. Chile

davidstanleytravel / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 130 – #24 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.8128 – #52 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Scorpene-class, U-209-class

28. Colombia

usnavy / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 237 – #12 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.7347 – #44 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Type 209/1200, Type 206

27. Canada

  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 67 – #47 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.3813 – #27 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Victoria-class

26. Taiwan

Courtesy of Naval Submarine Base New London via Facebook
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 93 – #39 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.3302 – #24 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Guppy-class, Hai Lung-class

25. Indonesia

stenlylam / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 333 – #6 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2251 – #13 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Cakra-class, Nagapasa-class

24. Brazil

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 4
  • Total naval fleet size: 134 – #22 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1944 – #12 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Tupi-class, Scorpene-class

23. Sweden

mikecogh / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 5
  • Total naval fleet size: 353 – #5 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.4009 – #29 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Abborren-class, Hajen-class

22. Israel

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 5
  • Total naval fleet size: 67 – #46 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2596 – #17 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Dolphin-class, AIP Dolphin 2 class

21. Norway

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 6
  • Total naval fleet size: 25 – #71 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.5664 – #41 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Ula-class

20. Algeria

austinevan / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 6
  • Total naval fleet size: 213 – #14 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.3589 – #26 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Project 636, Project 877

19. Vietnam

Trinhvan21 / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 6
  • Total naval fleet size: 97 – #37 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.3158 – #22 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Kilo-class

18. Germany

Aastels / Shutterstock.com
  • Number of submarines in active service: 6
  • Total naval fleet size: 64 – #49 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2847 – #19 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Type 212-class

17. Australia

offchurch-tam / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 6
  • Total naval fleet size: 43 – #59 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2515 – #16 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Collins-class

16. Singapore

usnavy / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 7
  • Total naval fleet size: 43 – #58 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.4087 – #30 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Archer-class, Challenger-class

15. Egypt

lt45 / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 8
  • Total naval fleet size: 140 – #21 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2283 – #15 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Romeo-class, Type 209-class

14. Italy

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 8
  • Total naval fleet size: 309 – #7 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1863 – #10 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Todaro-class, Sauro-class

13. Pakistan

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 8
  • Total naval fleet size: 114 – #31 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1711 – #9 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Agosta 90-class, Agosta 70-class, Cosmos-class

12. France

dennisvdw / iStock via Getty Images
  • Number of submarines in active service: 9
  • Total naval fleet size: 128 – #25 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1878 – #11 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Rubis-class, Barracuda-class, Triomphant-class

11. United Kingdom

Handout / Getty Images News via Getty Images
  • Number of submarines in active service: 10
  • Total naval fleet size: 117 – #29 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1443 – #6 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Vanguard-class, Astute-class, Trafalgar-class

10. Greece

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 11
  • Total naval fleet size: 187 – #17 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.4349 – #32 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Glavkos-class, Poseidon-class, Okeanos-class, Papanikolis-class

9. Turkey

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 12
  • Total naval fleet size: 186 – #18 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1697 – #8 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Atilay-class, Preveze-class, Gur-class

8. India

Chanakyathegreat~commonswiki / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 18
  • Total naval fleet size: 294 – #8 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1023 – #4 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Arihant-class, Kalvari-class, Singhughosh-class, Shishumar-class

7. Iran

Hossein Zohrevand / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 19
  • Total naval fleet size: 101 – #36 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.2269 – #14 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Kilo-class, Fateh-class, Ghadir-class

6. South Korea

  • Number of submarines in active service: 22
  • Total naval fleet size: 200 – #15 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1416 – #5 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Sohn Wonyil-class, Chang Bogo-class

5. Japan

southtopia / Flickr
  • Number of submarines in active service: 23
  • Total naval fleet size: 155 – #20 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.1601 – #7 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Taigei-class, Soryu-class, Oyashio-class

4. North Korea

JohnCrux / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Number of submarines in active service: 35
  • Total naval fleet size: 505 – #3 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.5313 – #36 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Simpo-class, Sango-class, Yono-class, Type 033-class

3. China

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Number of submarines in active service: 61
  • Total naval fleet size: 730 – #2 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.0706 – #3 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Jin-class, Shang-class, Han-class, Yuan-class

2. United States

  • Number of submarines in active service: 64
  • Total naval fleet size: 472 – #4 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.0699 – #1 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Ohio-class, Seawolf-class, Los Angeles-class, Virginia-class

1. Russia

Serega / iStock via Getty Images
  • Number of submarines in active service: 65
  • Total naval fleet size: 781 – #1 out of 145
  • GlobalFirepower PowerIndex score: 0.0702 – #2 most powerful out of 145
  • Submarines in fleet: Typhoon-class,Borey-class, Victor-class, Akula-class

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