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A powerful and combat-ready army is the key to the country’s significant weight in international arena. Moreover, in connection with the well-known events in Syria and Ukraine, military power is increasingly being used different countries the utmost attention is paid. Many people ask the question: “Who will win the world war?”

Today we present an annually updated, official ranking of the world's armies, a list that includes the most powerful armies in the world in 2017.

When compiling the rating, the following are compared:
- the number of armies of the world (regular number of troops, reservists)
- weapons (airplanes, helicopters, tanks, navy, artillery, other equipment)
- military budget, resource availability, geographical position, logistics.

Nuclear potential is not taken into account by experts, but recognized nuclear powers receive an advantage in ranking.

By the way, San Marino has the weakest army in the world in 2017 – only 80 people.

10 South Korea

The Korean army is the third largest in Asia - 630 thousand troops. The country is very high rate number of military personnel per thousand inhabitants – 14.2 people. Korea's defense budget is $33.7 billion.

9 Germany

The country's military budget is $45 billion. The number of German armed forces is 186,500 people. The German army is completely professional, i.e. There has been no compulsory conscription in the country since 2011.

8 Türkiye

The Turkish army is the best in the Middle East. The number of the country's armed forces is 510,000 people. Turkey's military budget is $18 billion. There are just over 7 military personnel per thousand residents of the country.

7 Japan

The Japanese army is seventh in the list of the best. The combat-ready part of the army numbers 247 thousand military personnel. With such a large armed force, the country has a simply huge defense budget - $49 billion.

6 UK

The country's military budget is $53 billion. The size of the British armed forces is 188,000 military personnel - this is the smallest army in the ranking. But the Royal Navy of Britain is the second in the world in terms of tonnage.

5 France

Opens a list of the 5 most powerful armies in the world. The country's military budget is $43 billion. The number of French armed forces is 222,000 people. The key to the combat effectiveness of this army is the presence in it of a full range of weapons own production from warships to helicopters and small arms.

4 India

The country's military budget is $46 billion. The number of Indian armed forces is 1,346,000 people, the country's army is the third largest in the world.

3 China

The largest army in the world ranking is the Chinese army, numbering 2,333,000 troops. Wikipedia shows that there are 1.71 military personnel per 1,000 inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. China's military budget is $126 billion.

2 Russia

The Russian armed forces are superior to almost all armies of the world in terms of weapons power in all branches of the military - air, ground and sea. Number Russian army for 2017 – 798,000 people. Military budget - $76 billion. Among the superpowers, Russia has a very high rate of the number of military personnel per 1000 inhabitants - 5.3 people.

1 USA

The most powerful army in the world, according to Globalfirepower, is American. By the way, it is not the largest in terms of numbers, but the most powerful in terms of available weapons, including nuclear potential, which is not taken into account by experts. The US Army has a strength of 1,492,200 people and a defense budget of $612 billion.

The Six Deadliest Armies in World History

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In an anarchic system like international relations military strength remains the best currency. A state may have magnificent culture, art, philosophy, splendor and glory, but all this is worthless if the country does not have sufficient military strength to defend itself. As Mao Zedong put it sharply, " political power comes from the barrel of a gun"

Of all types of armed forces, undoubtedly the main one remains ground troops- for the simple reason that people live on earth, and will continue to live this way in the foreseeable future. As the famous political scientist James Mearsheimer noted, "ground forces, supported by air force and navy, represent main view armed forces in the modern world."

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In fact, according to Mearsheimer, the war against Japan was Pacific Ocean was “the only example of a superpower war in modern history when the ground forces themselves were not the main factor influencing the outcome of the war, and other power tools, that is, the air force and the navy, played a more than just auxiliary role.” Despite this, Mearsheimer argues that in this war, too, “ground forces played a very important role in the defeat of Japan.”

Thus, it is the ground forces that serve as the indicator that determines military force countries. But how can we establish which troops were the strongest in their time? Based on their ability to achieve decisive victories time after time and their ability to allow their country to dominate other countries is the function of the ground forces as only the army can ensure such conquest and control. Here are some of the most powerful armies in history.

Roman army

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The Roman army conquered western world for several centuries. The advantage of the Roman army was its tenacity, the Romans returned and fought again and again even after severe defeats. The Romans demonstrated this during the Punic Wars when, despite lacking knowledge and resources, they were able to defeat the Carthaginians by first showing greater patience and then taking them by surprise by landing troops near Carthage.

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The Roman army gave soldiers ample incentive to fight with vigor and persistence. For poor soldiers, winning the war meant getting land. For landowners - protection of property and acquisition of additional wealth. For the Roman state as a whole, victory meant security.

All of these incentives encouraged Roman soldiers to fight harder, and morale is an important factor in determining the fighting efficiency of an army. No less important was the use of a battle formation of several lines, which, among other advantages, allowed the Romans to replace the soldiers of the first line with fresh soldiers who entered into battle with already tired enemies. The Roman army, often under the command of brilliant generals, used its mobility to gain an advantage in the offensive, especially against opponents who thought primarily of defense.

As a result, within three hundred years, Rome had transformed from a regional Italian power into a master Mediterranean Sea and the countries surrounding it. The Roman legions, army units made up of professional soldiers who served for 25 years, were highly trained and well armed with iron weapons. The legions were stationed in strategically important areas, simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the empire and keeping enemies at the borders. The Roman army, despite some setbacks, was actually unmatched in terms of strength in its region.

Mongol army

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The Mongols, who numbered approximately a million people when they began their conquests in 1206, were able to conquer most of Eurasia within a hundred years. They defeated armies and countries that often had human resources that were tens or hundreds of times greater than the Mongol ones. The Mongols were an unstoppable force that came out of nowhere and conquered the Middle East, Russia and China.

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The success of the Mongols is due to a variety of strategic and tactical techniques introduced by Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. The most important factor was the mobility and endurance of the Mongols. For starters, the nomadic lifestyle allowed the Mongols to move huge armies over gigantic distances in astonishingly short time, since the Mongols could live off their herds and the blood of their horses.

The mobility of the Mongols, indeed, was associated with their reliance mainly on cavalry. Each Mongol mounted warrior had three or four horses to keep them fresh. Cavalry, armed with bows and shooting at a gallop, gave the Mongols a great advantage over infantry armies. The mobility provided by horses, along with strict discipline, gave the Mongols the opportunity to use new tactics, in particular, strike and quickly retreat, as well as a primitive form of blitzkrieg.

The Mongols also gave great importance terror. They deliberately ravaged cities and slaughtered defeated enemies in order to instill terror in future enemies.

Ottoman army

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The Ottoman army, at the peak of its power, conquered the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa. It was almost always far superior to its Christian and Muslim neighbors. In 1453, she conquered one of the most impregnable cities in the world - Constantinople. For five hundred years, it remained the only player in a region that previously consisted of dozens of states, and until the 19th century it held out against its neighbors. How did the Ottoman army manage to do this?

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The Ottoman army began to actively use cannons and muskets before its opponents, who continued to fight with medieval weapons, did so. This gave a great advantage during the rise of the empire. The cannons took Constantinople and defeated the Persians and Egyptian Mamelukes. One of the main advantages of the Ottoman army was the use of elite infantry units, the Janissaries. Janissaries were trained for military service from childhood, and they were very loyal and combat-ready.

Army of Nazi Germany

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The Wehrmacht, the army of Nazi Germany, shocked Europe and the entire world, accustomed to the protracted battles of the First World War, by conquering most of Central and Western Europe in a few months. At some point, it seemed that the troops of Nazi Germany were about to conquer the gigantic Soviet Union.

The German army achieved these successes using the new blitzkrieg tactics, which combined the use of new weapons and communications, combining speed, the element of surprise and the concentration of forces with terrifying effectiveness. In particular, armored troops and motorized infantry, supported by short-range aircraft, were able to break through enemy lines and encircle opposing forces. On initial stages war, these opposing forces were often so shocked and overwhelmed that they offered minimal resistance.

To carry out a blitzkrieg, well-trained, combat-ready troops were required, and Berlin had them in abundance. As historian Andrew Roberts has noted, "One-on-one, German soldiers and their generals largely outmatched the British, Americans, and Russians in both offensive and defensive positions throughout the Second World War."

Although Nazi ideology and a crazy leader undermined the Wehrmacht's war efforts, Nazi Germany fell due to a lack of resources and soldiers.

Soviet army

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The Soviet Army (until 1946, the Red Army) contributed more than any other army to the victory in World War II. Really, Battle of Stalingrad, at the end of which the entire German Sixth Army surrendered, is almost universally considered the major turning point in the European theater.

The USSR's victory in the war and its ability to keep the rest of Europe at risk for four decades after the end of the war had nothing to do with superior technology (except nuclear weapons), nor with a military genius. Stalin's military leadership proved disastrous, especially early in the war, and in previous years he had purged many capable commanders from the army.

The Red Army was a military monster rather due to its gigantic size, determined by territory, population and industrial resources. As the famous historian of Nazi Germany Richard Evans explained, “according to the USSR’s own data, the Red Army lost more than 11 million soldiers, 100,000 aircraft, more than 300 thousand artillery pieces, more than 100 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units. Other sources estimate personnel losses even higher, up to 26 million."

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It must be admitted that there were manifestations of military genius during the war, especially when Stalin supported the few capable commanders, as well as the appearance of promising weapons from a technical point of view, for example, the T-34 tank. But they did not play a decisive role in the success of the USSR, since the army continued to make enormous sacrifices during the Battle of Berlin.

With the exception of nuclear weapons, the Soviet army of the era cold war wasn't too different from that compared to her opponents. Although the NATO bloc had technical superiority During the forty years of struggle, the USSR had quantitative superiority in many categories, especially in the number of soldiers. For this reason, in the event of a conflict in Europe, the United States and NATO planned to use nuclear weapons at an early stage.

US Army

For most of its history, the United States has refrained from maintaining big army. This is how it was intended: the American Constitution gives Congress the power to provide and maintain a navy, but regarding the army it says that Congress can raise and maintain an army as needed.

Until the end of World War II, the United States followed this model, raising large armies for the duration of the war, but quickly disbanding them after the end of hostilities. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, the American army has been very effective, especially in wars against states. It was America's entry into the First and Second world war helped tip the balance in favor of the Allies. The US also destroyed Saddam Hussein's army in Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003.

Each historical era is, to one degree or another, associated with the dominant position of a particular state. The strength of the state and its power were determined not only by the size of the territory under its control, but also by the condition of its army. In ancient times, it was the army that was the face of the state. A strong and powerful army provided not only the protection of its own territory, but also became the most important element economic development of ancient civilizations. Since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, the army becomes the key to achieving world domination. Later, this postulate was repeatedly confirmed in reality.

World-famous historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte and their followers were well aware of how much their power and personal power depended on the state of their own armed forces. In ancient times, first the Persians and Greeks, then the ancient Romans had the most powerful armies. With the collapse of ancient empires, new rulers appear on the scene and new states emerge. Today it is difficult to believe that small countries, which today have little say in world politics, once had strength and power. Genghis Khan had the strongest army at one time. The Mongols managed to conquer not only all of Asia and the Middle East, but also entered Eastern Europe.

The Mongol conquerors were replaced by the era of the Crusades, where the two strongest armies of that time, the army of the Crusaders and the army of Salah ad-Din, fought in head-to-head combat. The Middle Ages were marked by the emergence of several poles of world politics. In the east, mainland China was gaining power, in the middle of Asia the power of the Mughal Empire was growing, and the Ottoman Empire was dominant in the Middle East and North Africa. In Europe there was an irreconcilable struggle between England and Spain, France and Austria. In every corner globe Policy was decided by regiments and battalions, guns and navy. In those distant times, those countries and states that relied on a well-armed and trained army dominated.

Even the Roman Emperor Augustus believed that legions decide everything. The famous phrase said by Emperor Augustus - “Var, give me back my legions” could mean how important the presence of an army was for the state and power. Later, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte said: “Big battalions are always right”!

Almost the entire period of its development, humanity was constantly in a state of war. There has never been a period when peace reigned in the world. Wars gave way to bloody civil confrontations, and the conquest of territories gradually turned into colonization. One war followed another, some armies became victorious, others faded into oblivion. So it was, so it is and so it will be. As long as there are weapons in the world, as long as people strive to assert their will over others, there will be the most powerful armies in the world and armed conflicts.

Modern era and military forces

Unlike the place and role of the army in the history of mankind in the past, the modern era has made significant adjustments to the development of the armed forces. Now it is no longer the number of soldiers and the military talent of the commander that decide the outcome on the battlefield. Wars and armed conflicts, which often begin in the offices of power, are based on the economy, the quality of training of personnel and weapons. The times of large and numerous armies, into which the bulk of the male population was drafted, are history. The armament of countries that claim to be world and regional leaders has also changed dramatically. The combat effectiveness of an army is assessed by whether it has the most various means weapons, including airplanes and helicopters, communications equipment and missiles, artillery, tanks and ships. Countries that have modern and combat-ready armed forces make the difference in world politics. Any state that wants to have a powerful army is forced to spend enormous amounts of money from its own budget.

A modern army is not tons of fodder, mountains of gunpowder and cast iron cannonballs. Combat-ready armed forces are a modern, complex mechanism that, along with logistical support, involves complex technologies, technical means and electronic systems. In the 20th century, humanity made a rapid leap in its development. Accordingly, the military power of states increased. Economic development countries were determined by the power of their armed forces. The emergence of new technologies and their application in the creation of weapons marked the beginning of the arms race. First came the rifled firearms. Then armored battleships and cruisers entered the arena. The advent of the airplane and machine gun at the beginning of the 20th century marked the end of infantry dominance on the battlefield. Military equipment, armor and engines have become determining factors in the combat effectiveness of any army.

Two World Wars that swept across the planet in new history, a number of other conflicts, and finally, the emergence of nuclear weapons, clearly showed by what criteria the strength of the army is measured today.

Criteria for assessing the power of modern armed forces

The undisputed largest army today is the National Liberation Army of China (PLA). The armed forces of communist China are the largest in number. However, to say that the largest army in our time is a priori the strongest is a clear exaggeration. Naturally, a huge country with a population of nearly 2 billion people cannot have a small army. In addition, after World War II, China finally turned into a unified and centralized state capable of pursuing its policies on the world stage. The presence of China's nuclear potential has only strengthened China's position in world politics.

However, in current conditions, the strength and power of the army is measured by other criteria. First of all, the following parameters are assessed:

• the size of the military budget;
• the presence of all types of troops in the armed forces;
• military-technical support for the army;
• level of training of military units;
• technological aspect;
• presence of motivation.

Nuclear weapons that the USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, Pakistan, India have today, North Korea and Israel cannot be assessed as the main criterion for the strength of the armed forces. The atomic bomb and nuclear missile forces today are more of a ticket to the elite club of states and a kind of tool for deterring potential aggression. In the military-political aspect, the comparison of armies is carried out on the basis of the art of command and control, the quality of training and equipping the armed forces with high technologies. The emphasis is on conventional weapons. As before, the main characters on the battlefield are man and machine. The level of training of army units and the number of modern military equipment determines the power of the armed forces of states. Accordingly, the assessment when choosing the strongest armies in the world is based on these positions.

If China has the largest army, then in military-technical terms the leading roles are occupied by the US Army, the Russian Armed Forces, the PLA, the Indian Armed Forces, South Korea, Japan Self-Defense Forces and Turkish Army. Next come the armies of Great Britain, France and Germany. This arrangement of countries is explained by the results of analytical studies that are carried out annually around the world. Here, of course, you can add the Israeli IDF, but in the rankings this one of the most combat-ready armies in the world is for some reason outside the top ten.

Place in the ranking determines the result

A number of international expert agencies and analytical institutes compile a rating of the world's armies, which are the most powerful and powerful in the world. this moment. It can be noted that the places of countries in the latest rankings have changed little over the past 10-15 years. As before, leadership belongs to two states: the United States and Russia. These countries continue to be each other's main opponents, inheriting the effect of confrontation from the Cold War. The second half of the 20th century was marked by an unprecedented arms race that unfolded between two military camps. The Western coalition was led by the US Armed Forces, the Eastern bloc relied on the strength and power of the Soviet armed forces. Today, the Russian army and the US armed forces continue to adhere to military-technical parity in all branches of the military, not counting the nuclear potential of the two countries.

These two states have all available weapons. The size of the armies of Russia and the United States is also at high level, as well as military-technical potential. The first places in the ranking are awarded to these two armies, taking into account the fact that the acceptable likelihood of a military conflict between the two countries will be the beginning of a global catastrophe.

The strength and power of the armed forces of Russia and the United States is assessed differently. In the States they rely on development naval forces. Their nuclear-powered aircraft carrier fleet has no equal and ensures the power of the United States in the oceans. Following the fleet overseas, they are constantly increasing in quantity and quality air Force. The US ground army in terms of size, firepower and number of weapons is approximately in equal positions with the Russian ground forces. Russia has an undeniable advantage over the Americans in the number of tanks and motorized armored vehicles. By the number of cannon and rocket artillery, by the number of tactical rocket launchers There is parity between the two armies.

The only thing that cannot be compared is the military budget of the two countries. In this regard, the United States is far beyond the main group of rating participants. The amount of 612 billion dollars is not affordable for the Russian economy, which in turn can allocate about 70 billion dollars for military expenditures.

China rightfully occupies third place in the top 10 most powerful armies in the world. His PLA is no longer an archaic army, but a completely modern, technically equipped and numerous armed force. China’s position in the ranking is also strengthened by its large military budget, which according to 2016 data amounted to no less than $215 billion. The Chinese today have everything in the army, both nuclear missile forces and a large navy. Aviation and ground forces have the necessary amount of military equipment, including many modern models. It is important to note that at the beginning of the new millennium, China set a course for the complete modernization of its own armed forces, the ultimate goal of which is the creation of a modern, high-tech and combat-ready army.

• the Indian army, which numbers 1 million 325 thousand people, has a military budget of 56 billion dollars;
• the South Korean army has a military budget of 36.8 billion dollars;
• the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, which number 247 thousand people, and the military budget is equivalent to the figure of 47 billion dollars;
• the Turkish armed forces are the largest in Europe, numbering 510 thousand people and with the smallest military budget, only 18 billion dollars;
• the British armed forces, which number 188 thousand people and have a military budget of $48 billion;
• the French army is financed by 55 billion dollars with a strength of 222 thousand people;
• The German Bundeswehr has 186 thousand people under arms with a military budget of 41 billion dollars.

When assessing the positions of countries in the ranking, it is difficult to agree with the criteria on the basis of which the report was made. The armament of the countries of the world today is so diverse, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that it is not correct to assess the combat effectiveness of armies in this case. One should evaluate, first of all, the economic potential of states that invest in their own armed forces and the motivation facing the military.

The most powerful armies in the world. Russia took second place in it, behind the United States. ​Top ten countries with the most powerful personnel, suitable for military service, - in the RBC review.

Population size: 323.9 million people

145.2 million people, of which 1.3 million are active military personnel

Air Force: 13.7 thousand units of equipment

Ground troops: 5.8 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 415 units of equipment

Military budget:$587.8 billion

Population size: 142.3 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 70 million people, of which 798.5 thousand are active military personnel

Air Force: 3.8 thousand units of equipment

Ground troops: 20.2 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 352 units of equipment

Military budget:$44.6 billion

Population size: 1.3 billion people

Personnel fit for military service: 750 million people, of which 2.2 million are active military personnel

Air Force: 2.9 thousand units of military equipment

Ground troops: 6.4 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 714 units of military equipment

Military budget:$161.7 billion

Photo: Zahid Hussain Bhat / ZUMA / Global Look Press

Population size: 1.2 billion people

Personnel fit for military service: 616 million people, of which 1.3 million are active military personnel

Air Force: 2.1 thousand units of military equipment

Ground troops: 4.4 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 295 units of equipment

Military budget:$51 billion

Photo: Florian David / ZUMA / Global Look Press

Population size: 66.8 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 30 million people, including active military personnel — 204 thousand people

Air Force: 1.3 thousand units of military equipment

Ground troops: 406 battle tanks

Navy: 118 units of equipment

Military budget:$35 billion

Great Britain

Population size: 64.4 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 30 million people, of which 151.1 thousand are active military personnel

Air Force: 856 units of equipment

Ground troops: 249 battle tanks

Navy: 76 units of equipment

Military budget:$45.7 billion

Photo: Nicolas Datiche / AFLO / Global Look Press

Population size: 126.7 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 54 million people, including active military personnel — 248.5 thousand people

Air Force: 1.5 thousand units of equipment

Ground troops: 700 battle tanks

Navy: 131 units of military equipment

Military budget:$43.8 billion

Photo: Osman Bekleyen / ZUMA / Global Look Press

Population size: 80.2 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 41.6 million people, of which 382.8 thousand are active military personnel

Air Force: 1 thousand units of military equipment

Ground troops: 2.4 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 194 units of equipment

Military budget:$8.2 billion

Germany

Population size: 80.7 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 37 million people, of which 180 thousand are active military personnel

Air Force: 698 units of military equipment

Ground troops: 543 battle tanks

Navy: 81 units of equipment

Military budget:$39.2 billion

Population size: 94.6 million people

Personnel fit for military service: 42 million people, of which 454.2 thousand are active military personnel

Air Force: 1.1 thousand units of military equipment

Ground troops: 4.1 thousand battle tanks

Navy: 319 units of equipment

Military budget:$4.4 billion