Full ranking of the armies of the world global firepower. Firepower: The strongest armies in the world according to Global Firepower. Russia parameters according to the report

NATO and partners have chosen November 2018 for saber rattling as Norway hosts the largest military exercise since the Cold War. Russia, of course, is not happy, and in response, it also decided to "flex its muscles." The Russian military cruiser Pyotr Veliky has taken to the sea near Norway for a missile exercise to be held from 6 to 9 November. This whole display of armaments is taking place against the backdrop of a closely watched Europe, the part of the world that has some of the most well-armed armies in the world.

The data on the strongest armies was taken from the annual report of a website called Global Firepower. Experts determine the strongest armies according to 55 parameters (they include geography, logistics, territorial resources, the degree of industrial development, a variety of weapons, and so on). As a result, even the troops of small nations can rank higher than their more numerous neighbors.

According to the results of calculations, the index is determined, and the higher it is, the army, paradoxically, is worse. Below you will find top 10 most powerful armies in Europe.

10. Ukraine

• Place in : 29.
• Expert assessment: 0,5383.
• Human resources: 44 033 874.
• Of these, the military: 1 182 000.
• Number of aircraft: 240.
• Of these, fighters: 39.
• Tank units: 2 214.
• Navy: 25.
• Military budget of the country:$4.88 billion.

The head of state, Petro Poroshenko, is firmly convinced that the Ukrainian army is the strongest in Europe. However, the experts of the Global Firepower website do not agree with him: according to their version, Ukraine is assigned 29th place in the world ranking and 10th place in Europe. She, of course, confidently bypasses Monaco, Liechtenstein and prosperous Scandinavian neighbors, but she still has to work and work before leadership.

Like many republics of the former USSR, Ukraine is not yet able to send the legacy of the Soviet era to the landfill - there are no opportunities. Both the tense situation inside the country and the high level of corruption prevent this.

9. Greece

• Place in the world ranking: 28.
• Expert assessment: 0,5255.
• Human resources: 10 768 477.
• Of these, the military: 413 750.
• Number of aircraft: 567.
• Of these, fighters: 189.
• Tank units: 1 345.
• Navy: 115.
• Military budget of the country:$6.54 billion.

Does the changing of the guard in Athens make you smile? Think carefully before you laugh and point your fingers at the Guardsmen's skirts and pom-poms on their shoes. Greece is among the ten most powerful European armies in 2018 for a reason. The reason for this is the centuries-old history of complicated relations with Turkey; both nations, rightly fearing each other, are trying to keep their military forces in good shape. Although both countries are part of the same North Atlantic alliance.

8. Poland

• Place in the world ranking: 22.
• Expert assessment: 0,4276.
• Human resources: 38 476 269.
• Of these, the military: 184 650.
• Number of aircraft: 466.
• Of these, fighters: 99.
• Tank units: 1 065.
• Navy: 83.
• Military budget of the country:$9.36 billion.

In 2016, the Minister of War of Poland, Antony Macierewicz, announced that the country's military forces would be increased by at least one and a half times. Matserevich himself is an odious figure in his own way; he is firmly convinced that Russia is leading the world behind the scenes along with Israel. In early 2018, he was removed from his position. However, three new brigades, created to serve as a barrier to the eastern barbarians, continue to serve on the border.

And more recently, Ukraine was also recorded as an eastern barbarian, since the Poles are not enthusiastic about their troubled neighbor.

7. Spain

• Place in the world ranking: 19.
• Expert assessment: 0,4079.
• Human resources: 48 958 159.
• Of these, the military: 174 700.
• Number of aircraft: 524.
• Of these, fighters: 122.
• Tank units: 327.
• Navy: 46 (of which one aircraft carrier).
• Military budget of the country:$11.6 billion.

Military service in Spain is under the auspices of the royal family. The crowned head of state is the captain-general of both the ground forces and the naval and air forces. King Philip VI himself once served in the army and independently rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and captain of the second rank.

In general, military service in Spain is considered prestigious and capable of bringing bonuses to a citizen in the future, so they are willing to join the army.

6. Italy

• Place in the world ranking: 11.
• Expert assessment: 0,2565.
• Human resources: 62 137 802.
• Of these, the military: 267 500.
• Number of aircraft: 828.
• Of these, fighters: 90.
• Tank units: 200.
• Navy: 143 (two aircraft carriers).
• Military budget of the country:$37.7 billion.

Despite the reform carried out six years ago to reduce the size of the armed forces of Italy, its army is still one of the strongest in Europe. And a lot was cut
for example, personnel costs have been halved.

Like Spain, Italy long ago abolished the general conscription at a certain age and switched to a contract basis. While Italy does not manufacture nuclear weapons itself, it does store them for the United States. About 50 bombs lie deadly on the country's military bases.

5. Germany

• Place in the world ranking: 10.
• Expert assessment: 0,2461.
• Human resources: 80 594 017.
• Of these, the military: 208 641.
• Number of aircraft: 714.
• Of these, fighters: 94.
• Tank units: 432.
• Navy: 81.
• Military budget of the country:$45.2 billion.

After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR, Germany, like many other NATO members, began to reduce weapons and personnel. And she did it with all her heart and on a grand scale - if at the time of the beginning of perestroika there were more than 370 thousand people in the armed forces, now there are barely 200 thousand servicemen.

The main goal of the German army is peacekeeping, whatever that means. And like many other European countries, Germany abolished the general conscription 7 years ago, in 2011.

4. Turkey

• Place in the world ranking: 9.
• Expert assessment: 0,2216.
• Human resources: 80 845 215.
• Of these, the military: 710 565.
• Number of aircraft: 1 056.
• Of these, fighters: 207.
• Tank units: 2 446.
• Navy: 194.
• Military budget of the country:$10.2 billion.

Turkey has rather difficult relations with Greece and Russia, especially against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Syria. Ankara has long hinted that it would be nice for Turkish troops to invade Syria, which Russia, of course, cannot allow. And in recent years, Turkey has continued to build up its military power (this was not even prevented by an attempt by the military to arrange a coup d'état).

The Turkish army is considered one of the most well-to-do and well-trained among NATO member countries. The dreams of some politicians about the establishment of a "Turkic peace" centered in Ankara also cause considerable concern.

3. England

• Place in the world ranking: 6.
• Expert assessment: 0,1917.
• Human resources: 64 769 452.
• Of these, the military: 279 230.
• Number of aircraft: 832.
• Of these, fighters: 103.
• Tank units: 227.
• Navy: 76 (including two aircraft carriers).
• Military budget of the country: 50 billion dollars.

The top 3 most powerful armies in Europe in 2018 are opened by the military forces of foggy Albion. Like many NATO armies, the British have significantly reduced their power since the end of the Cold War. The apotheosis of military cutbacks was the disassembly for parts of aircraft just released from the factory in 2010.

The cuts in the military budget cause concern among many politicians, who fear that tomorrow military submarines under the Russian flag may emerge from the bottom of the Thames. The Daily Mail and Telegraph are also whipping up hysterics - these are two newspapers that assure that in the event of a war between Russia and England, the “Russian bears” will win. Whether one of them will build up weapons is still unknown.

2. France

• Place in the world ranking: 5.
• Expert assessment: 0,1869.
• Human resources: 67 106 161.
• Of these, the military: 388 635.
• Number of aircraft: 1 262.
• Of these, fighters: 299.
• Tank units: 406.
• Navy: 118 (including four aircraft carriers).
• Military budget of the country: 40 billion dollars.

France has always loved to demonstrate its independence from NATO. In 1966, the country withdrew from this organization and returned only in 2009, which created some friction between the organizations. Moreover, last week the President of France said that it was high time to create a pan-European army, independent of the United States (and, apparently, NATO).

Like many other countries, France switched to a contract form of the army. However, the military is not satisfied with the service, and after its completion, more than 40% of the military prefer to do other things. One of the reasons is poor conditions of service, plus attractive offers from private companies that like to lure military specialists to their place.

1. Russia

• Place in the world ranking: 2.
• Expert assessment: 0,0841.
• Human resources: 142 257 519.
• Of these, the military: 3 586 128.
• Number of aircraft: 3 914.
• Of these, fighters: 818.
• Tank units: 20 300.
• Navy: 352 (of which one aircraft carrier).
• Military budget of the country: 47 billion dollars.

When looking at the first place in the ranking, the soul is overwhelmed with patriotic pride. Global Firepower experts recognized the Russian army as the strongest in Europe. And in the world, it is second only to its eternal enemy and rival - the United States. In terms of the level of technical development, the Russian army is one of the most powerful, because it is one of those rare countries that are able to completely and independently create the entire cycle of development of a nuclear bomb, from collecting raw materials to delivering them to a possible enemy. The Russian army is still replenished by conscription, but thanks to recent reforms, it has become more prestigious to serve in it, especially if a person is from a small town or village where there are no other social elevators. There are also contract units - these include the permanent response troops, where the elite is recruited from the elites.

However, other voices are heard from across the ocean: some American experts argue that if there is a military conflict between Russia and China, the latter will win. Because China's technologies are more advanced, and the country's financial capabilities allow them to be freely increased. While Moscow had to abandon the idea of ​​building a new aircraft carrier with tears. The reason is simple - there is no money. Whether the US military power will be reoriented to the confrontation with China - time will tell.

Global Firepower has released the next annual rating report on the armies of the world.
The rating is formed according to more than 50 parameters and is released every year, taking into account more than 2/3 of the countries of the world.
The top three have not changed for a long time - the United States is in first place, Russia is in second place, and China is in third place.

Among the declared parameters of the rating:

1. Nuclear weapons are not taken into account (only conventional weapons), but countries with them receive a certain bonus to the rating.
2. The ranking does not depend entirely on the number of weapons, but rather focuses on the variety of weapons and their quality.
3. Geographic parameters, infrastructure and natural resources affect the country's overall position in the ranking.
4. The number of population and available labor force plays an important role in the final assessment. Whoever has more people, he usually ranks high in the rankings.
5. Landlocked countries do not receive a penalty for not having a fleet. Countries with a low variety of naval weapons receive a penalty.
6. NATO countries have a bonus due to the cumulative use of resources.
7. The current military-political leadership of any of the countries is not taken into account.
8. Figures are taken from open sources at the end of 2016.

Russia parameters according to the report:

Demographic and mobilization potential.

air force

Tanks, AFVs, artillery, MLRS

Navy

Oil, infrastructure.

Finance, geography.

For comparison.

Air Force.

Tanks, AFVs, artillery, MLRS.

Navy

Oil, transport infrastructure.

Finance, geography.

China.

Demography, mobilization potential.

air force

Tanks, AFVs, artillery, MLRS.

Navy.

Oil, transport infrastructure

Finance, geography.

It also seemed noteworthy that Turkey and Egypt were placed above Israel. If the comparison with Turkey is a moot point, then the superiority of Egypt looks very doubtful.
You can also note that they do not consider China the second aircraft carrier, since it was still being completed at the end of 2016, and Britain counted as many as 2, while in fact there is only 1, and even that one is in a state of completion, and "Illustrious" already sent for scrap.

The strength of the armed forces.

Tanks.

BBM.

Barrel artillery.

Combat aircraft.

Submarines.

The number of military ships. North Korea is a great maritime power.

Merchant navy. Panama, as usual, is out of competition.

Oil production, including proven reserves.

PS. The strongest army in Europe in this ranking is located in 30th place between Sweden and Myanmar, even though it is a wartime army, while the vast majority of armies standing above are peacetime armies. The rating was compiled by Kremlin agents in order to slander Nenko and her defense efforts.

The foreign portal Globalfirepower.com, which was immediately quoted by the Russian media. The most powerful army in the world was recognized as the US Army, which received an index of 0.0857. Russia is in second place: 0.0929. The third, slightly behind the Russian army, was the Chinese army: 0.0945.

The site that published the rating says that not only the total number of weapons was taken into account, but also diversity, the number of personnel in the army, its reserve, the level of funding for the military sphere, the country's transport infrastructure, oil production and other factors affecting the country's defense capability. There are about 50 different factors in total. The ranking includes 133 countries.

What is known about Global Firepower?

Basically, nothing. There is no information about the company, its employees and headquarters in open sources. As stated on the site, Global Firepower is part of a whole network of MilitaryFactory.com sites. The parent site was registered in 2003. On the English-language forums they write that the Global Firepower website cannot be trusted, since it does not have any specifics about the methodology for research.

All sources cited by the Global Firepower portal are the same for describing the armies of all countries and consist of vague links to the CIA and CIA World Factbook websites, as well as Wikipedia. However, there are no direct references to studies. That is, even the data on the army of Tanzania (No. 98) were allegedly taken by the authors of the rating from the CIA website.

The Site Disclaimer states: “Global Firepower assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, correctness, completeness, reliability, or timeliness of the information. The content of the site is presented without warranty of any kind, express or implied."

In addition, from the very beginning in the same section it is said that the site has a purely "historical and entertainment function."

A powerful and combat-ready army is the key to a significant weight of the country in the international arena. Moreover, in connection with the well-known events in Syria and Ukraine, the military power of different countries is increasingly being given the closest attention. Many ask the question: "Who will win the world war?".

Today we present the annually updated, official ranking of the armies of the world, the complete list includes the most powerful armies in the world in 2018.

Read updated according to Globalfirepower.

Top 10 compiled according to a specialized resource.

• the number of armies of the world (regular number of troops, reservists)
• weapons (aircraft, helicopters, tanks, navy, artillery, other equipment)
• military budget,
• resources, geographic location,
• logistics.

The nuclear potential is not taken into account by experts, but the recognized ones get an advantage in ranking.

In 2018, the ranking included136 countries. Newcomers to the list are Ireland (116th), Montenegro (121st) and Liberia.(135 position).

By the way, San Marino has the weakest army in the world in 2018 - only 84 people.

10. German Army

The military budget of Germany increased from 45 to 46 billion dollars. At the same time, the number of military personnel decreased from186 up to 178 thousand people. The German army is completely professional, i.e. There has been no compulsory conscription in the country since 2011.

9. Turkish Armed Forces

In the past, the top armies of the world, the country of luxurious beaches and beautiful tomatoes, ranked eighth. The number of its armed forces is 350 thousand people, and the military budget is 10.2 billion dollars.

8Japan Self-Defense Force

The Land of the Rising Sun has worsened its military performance and dropped one line in the list of the best armies in the world. The military budget has decreased from 49 to 44 billion dollars, but the number of servicemen has not changed - over 247 thousand people.

7. Army of South Korea

Compared to the previous ranking, South Korea jumped from 10th to 7th place. There are 625,000 servicemen in the Korean army. The eternal rival - North Korea, the number of soldiers reaches 945 thousand people. And South Korea's defense budget is $40 billion.

6. British Army

Although the country's position in the list has not changed, it has improved its performance in terms of the size of the army (197 thousand people against 188 thousand people). Nevertheless, it still remains the smallest army in the ranking.

The military budget of England has decreased compared to 2017 from 55 to 50 billion dollars.

5. Army of France

The French army, which opened the top 5 most powerful armies in the world, is small in number. Currently, 205 thousand people serve in it. At the same time, the country's defense budget is $40 billion.

4. Indian Armed Forces

The country's military budget is $47 billion. The number of Indian armed forces is 1,362,000 people, the country's army is the third largest in the world.

3. Army of China

The Celestial Empire has the largest human military force in the ranking of the armies of the world. It serves 2,183,000 people. According to Wikipedia, there are 1.71 military personnel per 1,000 inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. And China's military budget is huge, to match the army - $ 151 billion (up from $ 126 billion compared to 2017).

2. Russian army

The Russian armed forces surpass almost all the armies of the countries of the world in terms of the power of weapons in all branches of the military - air, land and sea. The number of the Russian army for 2018 is 1,013,000 people. The military budget is $47 billion. Among the superpowers, Russia has a very high number of military personnel per 1,000 inhabitants - 5.3 people.

1. US Army

The strongest army in the world, according to Globalfirepower, 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 not taken into account by experts. The US Army has 1,281,900 men and a defense budget of $647 billion.dollars.

World Armies Comparison Table (Infographic)

No matter how armed the army is, the morale of the soldiers will play an important role in winning the world war. In this regard, it is a big mistake to consider the current distribution of seats as absolutely correct.

Russia ranked second in the ranking of the strongest armies in the world according to the American portal Global Firepower, losing only to the US army. In total, 133 states were included in the table. According to the compilers of the rating, their results are based on more than 50 factors that make up the so-called Power Index. The portal reports that the calculation formula allows smaller, but more technically equipped nations, like Israel or Japan, to compete with large developing states.

The compilers of the rating emphasize that the place in the table is not based on a simple sum of weapons and equipment available to a particular country - it takes into account the variety and nature of weapons in order to achieve greater objectivity. As an example, Global Firepower notes that having 100 minesweepers in service is much less strategically and tactically important than 10 aircraft carriers. At the same time, analysts give NATO countries a small bonus - after all, they have the opportunity for mutual assistance, as well as the exchange of resources and standardized materials.

• Reuters

Russia ranked second due to the impressive size of the ground and armored formations, the compilers of the ranking note. According to the portal, today the number of so-called active personnel is 798.5 thousand people, plus 2.5 million military personnel in reserve. For comparison, in the US armed forces, the leader in the ranking, the number of active personnel is 1.3 million and another 990 thousand are in reserve.

In terms of the strength of armored formations, Russia left its competitors far behind (20.216 thousand units). In second place, by a wide margin, China follows (6.457 thousand units), while the United States falls into third place (5.8 thousand units).

The fourth place in terms of the number of armored units is occupied by the army of the DPRK, which in the overall standings of the Power Index took 23rd place with a score of 0.4218.

The top ten, in addition to the top three - the United States, Russia and China, includes India, France, Great Britain, Japan, Turkey, Germany and Egypt.

Ukraine took 30th place in the rating with a Power Index of 0.5664, losing to such states as Sweden, Greece, Spain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. At the same time, Ukraine managed to bypass a number of developed countries - Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and developing countries - Myanmar, Malaysia, Mexico.

Experts emphasize that the presence of a nuclear arsenal was not taken into account when compiling the rating, but the nuclear powers still received additional points. The key factor was the availability of manpower, so states with a large population, as expected, took the top positions in the table. Also, Global Firepower analysts took into account the geographical location, the volume and quality of natural resources and the logistical flexibility of each individual state. But the political system of the country, as well as the nature of the management of the armed forces, were not taken into account by Global Firepower analysts.

This is not the first time the Russian army has been ranked among the top three most powerful armed forces. So, in April of this year, the German magazine Focus reported that the country was ahead of its opponents in terms of the number of tanks, becoming the state with the largest land army. 126 countries were included in that rating.

According to the Global Military Power Index, Russia consistently ranks second, second only to the United States, whose military budget is estimated at $581 billion. In addition to it, more than 40 different factors were also taken into account when calculating the index: human resources, the power of the Air Force and the Navy , volumes of extraction of natural resources and logistical features of countries. At the same time, the number of nuclear weapons was not taken into account.

• American F-35 fighters.
• Reuters

Concerns on the part of NATO countries and their satellites about the Russian army again came into the spotlight in late August, when representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense had to publicly refute speculation about the threat posed by the planned Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 exercises.

The West-2017 strategic exercises are held every two years and are aimed primarily at checking the combat readiness of the regional grouping of troops of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. This year the maneuvers are scheduled for September 14-20.

Despite the planned nature of the exercises, since the fall of 2016 (that is, almost a year before the start), rumors appeared in Eastern Europe about the impending invasion of Russian troops. The officials of the Russian Federation and Belarus have repeatedly pointed out the false nature of such information, but the number of reports about the “Russian threat” has steadily increased.

“For several months now, the world's largest media, and after them politicians, have been stirring up public opinion by spreading myths about the so-called Russian threat. The most improbable scenarios of the development of events are assumed. Some have guessed that the Zapad-2017 exercises are allegedly preparing a springboard for the invasion or occupation of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. None of these versions has anything to do with reality,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told the foreign military attache.