10. Germany
Starting from the back, we find Germany invests close to $45 million every year, financing the military. Arguably the most powerful economy in Europe does not spend ‘’that much’’ as one would presume. Reasons for that are that the general population is less prone to military activities after World War II, where Germany has seen a steady decline in people that join the military. In 2011, people were no longer obliged to serve in the military by law. However, Germany still has more than 180,000 people active in military workforces, alongside 145,000 reservists. They have an airforce of 710 units and almost 5,000 units that are involved in ground operations.
9. Turkey
Currently, under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a president with practically limitless powers, Turkey is a significant investor in its army. They count 660,000 active and reserve troops with an airforce that counts 1000 units, while they have 16,000 units available on the ground. Surrounded by various struggles in the Middle East, the Kurds, the Islamic State, and the battles in Syria, it does not come as a surprise that Turkey has an $18.8 billion budget to finance the military industry.
8. United Kingdom
With a budget of $54 billion currently invested in the armed forces, the UK army does not hold so many active military personnel. Their regular forces are around 205,000, and the Royal Air Force counts 908 aircrafts available. The Royal Navy is also very small compared with other armies on this list, having only 66 ships in their fleet. However, the UK army is very technologically advanced, and their main power comes from the 160 nuclear heads they have.
7. South Korea
Considering how close North Korea is, another powerful army in possession of nuclear warheads, it seems reasonable that the country’s investment in their defenses is around $34 billion. The number of available troops is counting more than 640,000 people, while a staggering number of 2,900,000 people stand in reserve. They have some serious firepower in the air, with 1,393 aircraft. Along with that, they own around 15,000 ground operating units, together with 2,346 tanks.
6. Japan
Ever since the peace treaty after World War II, Japan was prohibited from having an army to take offensive actions. However, with China’s influence over the whole Asian continent, Japan saw an increase in the budget towards military forces. With investments of $49 billion in a year, Japan has more than 247,000 people as active military staff and an airforce of 1,595 planes. Their naval power is also considerable, having 131 warships at their disposal.
5. France
Being close neighbors with Germany, the French government also froze many investments for military purposes. Their budget still stands at $43 billion a year and is below the target suggested by NATO. The number of people active in the military is just above 220,000, with 500,000 reservists. They count 1,000 aircraft and 9,000 ground operating units. Again, the ‘’real’’ power lies in their nuclear power, which is 290 warheads.
4. India
With India currently being the second most populated country globally, with more than 1.3 billion people currently living there, it does not surprise they have an army of 1.325 million people, with more than 2 million reservists. With a budget of $55 billion, they have almost 1,800 aircraft, 16,000 vehicles on land that includes 3,500 tanks. The official numbers on their nuclear warheads are not in agreement. Still, it is estimated that they have close to 200 ballistic missiles.
3. China
The most populated country in the world counts 2.285 million people active in the military and another 2.3 million in reserve. Along with 25,000 vehicles on land, this makes China the world’s biggest land force. This is all covered with a budget of $125 billion, which includes a powerful air force of 2,800 planes and around 300 nuclear warheads. These numbers are most likely to go up significantly in the years ahead of us because China will probably see an increase in its military budget by another 12.2%.
2. Russia
Another country that is expected to extend its military budget in the next few years by more than 40%, Russia, is the current leader in the number of nuclear warheads in its possession, which is almost 8,500. With a current budget of $76.6 billion, Russia is financing more than 760,000 active and close to 2.5 million reserve army. They are also leading in the number of tanks they have, reaching as high as 15,500 heavily armed vehicles.
1. United States Of America
With a mind-blowing budget of $612.5 billion spent on military purposes, which is more than all of the previous 9 entries on this list combined, the United States has scored the best on the Global Fire Power Index. The US has a big army of 1.4 million soldiers, with another 800,000 in reserve. They are the world’s leader in the air force, with 13,398 aircraft that include 5,760 helicopters. They also own the biggest fleet that can carry those aircraft, counting 19 large ships. When it comes to the number of active nuclear warheads, they are very close behind Russia with 7,500 warheads.
What about Israel ???? Iran ??
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