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With its National Defence Strategy released earlier this year, the US detailed its shift from small -
scale operations like counterinsurgency and toward a potential fight with a rival like Russia or
China.
Countries around the world have made similar moves, refocusing on large -scale conflict.
Amid those changes, head-to-head comparisons of military strength are hard to come by. Global
Firepower's 2018 Military Strength Ranking tries to fill that void by drawing on more than 55 factors
to assign a Power Index score to 136 countries - adding Ireland, Montenegro, and Liberia to last
year's list.
The ranking assesses the diversity of each country's weapons and pays particular attention to their
available manpower. Geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of
local industry are also taken into account.
While recognised nuclear powers receive a bonus, their nuclear stockpiles are not factored into the
score. Landlocked countries are not docked for lacking a navy, but countries with navies are
penalised if there is a lack of diversity in their fleets.
NATO countries get a slight bonus because the alliance theoretically shares resources, but in
general, a country's current political and military leadership was not considered (though financial
health and stability is).
The top power index score is 0.0000, which is "realistically unattainabile" for any military according
to Global Firepower. The closer they are to this number, the more powerful their miltary is.
Per these criteria, these are the 25 most powerful militaries in the world:
25. Canada
Fighter aircraft: 60
Combat tanks: 80
24. Taiwan
Power Index rating: 0.4331
23. Algeria
Power Index rating: 0.4296
Fighter aircraft: 97
Fighter aircraft: 99
21. Australia
Power Index rating: 0.4203
Fighter aircraft: 78
Combat tanks: 59
20. Vietnam
Power Index rating: 0.4098
Fighter aircraft: 76
Combat 1,545
Total naval assets: 65
19. Spain
17. Pakistan
Power Index rating: 0.3689
16. Israel
Power Index rating: 0.3444
15. Indonesia
Power Index rating: 0.3266
14. Brazil
Power Index rating: 0.3198
Fighter aircraft: 43
13. Iran
Power Index rating: 0.3131
12. Egypt
Power Index rating: 0.2751
Total population: 97,041,072
11. Italy
Power Index rating: 0.2565 (NATO member)
Fighter aircraft: 90
10. Germany
Power Index rating: 0.2461 (NATO member)
Fighter aircraft: 94
8. Japan
Power Index rating: 0.2107
7. South Korea
Power Index rating: 0.2001
6. United Kingdom
5. France
Power Index rating: 0.1869 (NATO member)
4. India
Power Index rating: 0.1417
3. China
Power Index rating: 0.0852
2. Russia
Power Index rating: 0.0841
Total population: 142,257,519
Total naval assets: 352 (one aircraft carrier out of service indefinitely)
1. United States