Pakistan Army Ranked Among the World’s 20 Most Powerful Militaries

Global Firepower has released the rankings for the most powerful militaries in the world for 2018. Previously, Pakistan was ranked 13th in the list, however, this time the country has dropped four places to stand at 17th.

The website ranks countries based on 55 different factors that make the overall comparison fair. The rankings are made by incorporating following variables in general;

• The 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.
• A 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.
• The ranking is independent of the country’s political or military leadership.

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Militaries of 136 countries were assessed and here are the top 20 out of all those;

1. United States of America

The USA tops the list as it spends more money on its defense than rest of the countries combined. The US defense has a budget of around $647 billion at its disposal, way above than Pakistan’s total GDP. Here is how it ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.0818
Total population: 326,625,791
Total military personnel: 2,083,100
Total aircraft: 13,362
Fighter aircraft: 1,962
Combat tanks: 5,884
Total naval assets: 415 (20 aircraft carriers)

2. Russia

Russians spend around $47 billion on their defense, here are their numbers;

Power Index rating: 0.0841
Total population: 142,357,519
Total military personnel: 3,586,128
Total aircraft: 3,914
Fighter aircraft: 818
Combat tanks: 20,300
Total naval assets: 352 (1 aircraft carrier)

3. China

China stands at number 3 with a spending of huge $151 billion on its military. The rest are;

Power Index rating: 0.0852
Total population: 1.3 billion
Total military personnel: 2,693,000
Total aircraft: 3,035
Fighter aircraft: 1,125
Combat tanks: 7,716
Total naval assets: 714 (1 aircraft carrier)

4. India

India has a defense budget of $47 billion, its ranking goes like this;

Power Index rating: 0.1417
Total population: 1.2 billion
Total military personnel: 4,207,250
Total aircraft: 2,185
Fighter aircraft: 590
Combat tanks: 4,426
Total naval assets: 295 (1 aircraft carrier)

5. France

France allocates $40 billion on its defensive needs, the ranking data includes;

Power Index rating: 0.1869
Total population: 67,106,161
Total military personnel: 388,635
Total aircraft: 1,262
Fighter aircraft: 299
Combat tanks: 406
Total naval assets: 118 (4 aircraft carriers)

6. United Kingdom

The United Kingdom spends $50 billion on its budget, here is how it ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.1917
Total population: 64,769,452
Total military personnel: 279,230
Total aircraft: 832
Fighter aircraft: 103
Combat tanks: 227
Total naval assets: 76 (2 aircraft carriers)

7. South Korea

South Korea jumped 5 places to replace Japan on the list at number 7. The country spends $40 billion on its defense with the following stats;

Power Index rating: 0.2001
Total population: 51,181,299
Total military personnel: 5,827,250
Total aircraft: 1,560
Fighter aircraft: 406
Combat tanks: 2,654
Total naval assets: 166 (1 aircraft carrier)

8. Japan

Japan slipped one place to stand at 8 this year, the country spends $44 billion on its defense.

Power Index rating: 0.2107
Total population: 126,451,398
Total military personnel: 310,457
Total aircraft: 1,508
Fighter aircraft: 290
Combat tanks: 679
Total naval assets: 131 (4 aircraft carriers)

9. Turkey

Turkey spends $10.2 billion on its military, here is how Turkish military ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.2216
Total population: 80,845,215
Total military personnel: 710,565
Total aircraft: 1,056
Fighter aircraft: 207
Combat tanks: 2,446
Total naval assets: 194 (0 aircraft carriers)

10. Germany

Germany has allocated $45.2 billion for its military forces, and the rest of the numbers go like this;

Power Index rating: 0.2461
Total population: 80,594,017
Total military personnel: 208,641
Total aircraft: 714
Fighter aircraft: 94
Combat tanks: 432
Total naval assets: 81 (0 aircraft carriers)

11. Italy

Italy stands 11th on the list with a $37.7 billion spending.

Power Index rating: 0.2565
Total population: 62,137,802
Total military personnel: 267,500
Total aircraft: 828
Fighter aircraft: 90
Combat tanks: 200
Total naval assets: 143 (2 aircraft carriers)

12. Egypt

Despite a rather low defense spending of $4.4 billion, Egyptians have a strong military and Mo Salah. Here is how they rank;

Power Index rating: 0.2751
Total population: 97,041,072
Total military personnel: 1,329,250
Total aircraft: 1,132
Fighter aircraft: 309
Combat tanks: 4,946
Total naval assets: 319 (2 aircraft carriers)

13. Iran

Iran replaced Pakistan at number 13 on the list with a defense budget of $6.3 billion.

Power Index rating: 0.3131
Total population: 82,021,564
Total military personnel: 934,000
Total aircraft: 505
Fighter aircraft: 150
Combat tanks: 1,650
Total naval assets: 398 (0 aircraft carriers)

14. Brazil

Brazil spends $29 billion on its defense. Here is how it ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.3198
Total population: 207,353,391
Total military personnel: 1,987,000
Total aircraft: 723
Fighter aircraft: 46
Combat tanks: 469
Total naval assets: 110 (0 aircraft carriers)

15. Indonesia

Indonesia has defense needs of $6.9 billion.

Power Index rating: 0.3266
Total population: 260,580,739
Total military personnel: 975,750
Total aircraft: 478
Fighter aircraft: 41
Combat tanks: 418
Total naval assets: 221 (0 aircraft carriers)

16. Israel

Israel spends $20 billion on its budget and continues to invade Palestine with it. Here is how it ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.3444
Total population: 8,299,706
Total military personnel: 615,000
Total aircraft: 596
Fighter aircraft: 252
Combat tanks: 2,760
Total naval assets: 65 (0 aircraft carriers)

17. Pakistan

Pakistan allocates $7 billion for its defensive needs, here is how its military strength ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.3689
Total population: 204,924,861
Total military personnel: 919,000
Total aircraft: 1,281
Fighter aircraft: 320
Combat tanks: 2,182
Total naval assets: 197 (0 aircraft carriers)

18. North Korea

North Korea has a defense budget of $47.5 billion.

Power Index rating: 0.3876
Total population: 25,248,140
Total military personnel: 6,445,000
Total aircraft: 955
Fighter aircraft: 458
Combat tanks: 5,243
Total naval assets: 967 (0 aircraft carriers)

19. Spain

Spain allocates $11.6 billion for its defense.

Power Index rating: 0.4079
Total population: 48,958,159
Total military personnel: 174,700
Total aircraft: 524
Fighter aircraft: 122
Combat tanks: 327
Total naval assets: 46 (1 aircraft carrier)

20. Vietman

Vietnam pours in $3.3 billion on its defensive needs, here is how country’s military ranks;

Power Index rating: 0.4098
Total population: 96,160,163
Total military personnel: 5,488,500
Total aircraft: 283
Fighter aircraft: 76
Combat tanks: 1,545
Total naval assets: 65 (0 aircraft carriers)

Via Global Firepower