Pakistan Army Ranked as the World’s 13th Most Powerful Military

A globally renowned United States website called “Global Firepower” has ranked Pakistan as the 13th most powerful military power in the world.

Global Firepower ranks the world’s major militaries based on certain criteria by calculating statistics and official numbers. The website ranks countries’ military power based on the following factors;

Diversity of weapons along with the total number of weapons.
Geographical factors.
Logistical flexibility.
Natural resources and local industry influence.
Nuclear powers receive a slight edge in the rankings.
Higher population of the country means higher rank.
Land-locked (having no sea) countries are not ranked for their Navy. Countries having a naval force but no diversity of weapons receive a low score in the rankings.
Countries having alliances for example NATO receive an edge in the rankings as well due to the sharing of resources.
Ranking is independent of the country’s political or military leadership.

Top 15 Most Powerful Militaries in The World

So, here are how the top 15 militaries in the world rank;

1. United States

United States spends more money on its defense than the rest of the 14 countries combined. US defense budget is $587.8 billion. Here is how the rest of its firepower stands.

Power Index rating: 0.0857
Total population: 323,995,528
Total military personnel: 2,363,675
Total aircraft: 13,762
Fighter aircraft: 2,296
Combat tanks: 5,884
Total naval assets: 415 (19 aircraft carriers)

2. Russia

Russia has a defense budget of $44.6 billion. Here is why it ranks second;

Power Index rating: 0.0929
Total population: 142,355,415
Total military personnel: 3,371,027
Total aircraft strength: 3,794
Fighter aircraft: 806
Combat tanks: 20,216
Total naval assets: 352 (one aircraft carrier)

3. China

China spends significant amount on its military as well. The country’s defense budget is $161.7 billion.

Power Index rating: 0.0945
Total population: 1,373,541,278
Total military personnel: 3,712,500
Total aircraft strength: 2,955
Fighter aircraft: 1,271
Combat tanks: 6,457
Total naval assets: 714 (one aircraft carrier)

4. India

India stands at number 4 with a spending of $51 billion on its military.

Power Index rating: 0.1593
Total population: 1,266,883,598
Total military personnel: 4,207,250
Total aircraft strength: 2,102
Fighter aircraft: 676
Combat tanks: 4,426
Total naval assets: 295 (three aircraft carriers)

5. France

France spends $35 billion on its military, here is how French military ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.1914
Total population: 66,836,154
Total military personnel: 387,635
Total aircraft strength: 1,305
Fighter aircraft 296
Combat tanks: 406
Total naval assets: 118 (four aircraft carriers)

6. United Kingdom

UK has allocated $45.7 billion for its military forces, and the rest of the numbers go like this;

Power Index rating: 0.2131
Total population: 64,430,428
Total military personnel: 232,675
Total aircraft strength: 856
Fighter aircraft: 88
Combat tanks 249
Total naval assets: 76 (two aircraft carriers)

7. Japan

Japan spends $43.8 billion on its defense. Its strength is defined by these numbers.

Power Index rating: 0.2137
Total population: 126,702,133
Total military personnel: 311,875
Total aircraft strength: 1,594
Fighter aircraft: 288
Combat tanks: 700
Total naval assets: 131 (four aircraft carriers)

8. Turkey

Turkey has allotted $8.2 billion for its military. Its firepower stands like this;

Power Index rating: 0.2491
Total population: 80,274,604
Total military personnel: 743,415
Total aircraft strength: 1,018
Fighter aircraft: 207
Combat tanks: 2,445
Total naval assets: 194

9. Germany

Germany is 9th on the list with a military spending of $39.2 billion. Its firepower stands as following;

Power Index rating: 0.2609
Total population: 80,722,792
Total military personnel: 210,000
Total aircraft strength: 698
Fighter aircraft: 92
Combat tanks: 543
Total naval assets: 81

10. Egypt

Egypt has a low military spending of $4.4 billion as compared to the top 9 countries, however, they have a strong military. Its stats are shown below;

Power Index rating: 0.2676
Total population: 94,666,993
Total military personnel: 1,329,250
Total aircraft strength: 1,132
Fighter aircraft: 337
Combat tanks: 4,110
Total naval assets: 319 (two aircraft carriers)

11. Italy

Italy has a defense spending of $34 billion.

Power Index rating: 0.2694
Total population: 62,007,540
Total military personnel: 267,500
Total aircraft strength: 822
Fighter aircraft: 79
Combat tanks: 200
Total naval assets: 143 (two aircraft carriers)

12. South Korea

South Korea spends $43.8 billion on its military. Its firepower ranking goes like this;

Power Index rating: 0.2741
Total population: 50,924,172
Total military personnel: 5,829,750
Total aircraft strength: 1,477
Fighter aircraft: 406
Combat tanks: 2,654
Total naval assets: 166 (one aircraft carrier)

13. Pakistan

Pakistan pours $7 billion into its defense and has the 13th strongest military in the world. The numbers go like this;

Power Index rating: 0.3287
Total population: 201,995,540
Total military personnel: 919,000
Total aircraft strength: 951
Fighter aircraft: 301
Combat tanks: 2,924
Total naval assets: 197

14. Indonesia

Indonesia spends $6.9 billion on its defense and is ranked on the following numbers;

Power Index rating: 0.3347
Total population: 258,316,051
Total military personnel: 975,750
Total aircraft strength: 441
Fighter aircraft: 39
Combat tanks: 418
Total naval assets: 221

15. Israel

Israel’s budget for defense is $15.5 billion;

Power Index rating: 0.3476
Total population: 8,174,527
Total military personnel: 718,250
Total aircraft strength: 652
Fighter aircraft: 243
Combat tanks: 2,620
Total naval assets: 65

Via Global Firepower