Most Powerful Militaries In The World

all around the world battlefields are constantly evolving the fight for control and power no longer hinges on the size of a country's army but on their tactics technology financials and logistical capabilities as well and believe you me some countries have a lot more of these than others so taking all this into account it's time to find out which countries have the most formidable military forces in the world germany during the second world war fascist controlled germany saw no less than a staggering 17.3 million soldiers serve in its army air force and navy but after the country suffered its crushing defeat the winning allied powers placed limitations on germany's military which was reduced down to a paltry 000 soldiers the country was then divided into the east and west and the west became a member of the nato political and military alliance then under strict nato edicts west germany built up a military numbering 490 000 to help fight in the cold war eventually the east and the west sections were reunified in 1990 but reunification came at a cost the german armed forces were limited again to a maximum of just 370 000 personnel it's like nato just couldn't make up its mind fortunately germany has since adopted a strong anti-war attitude and today has a military made up of just 182 650 active duty personnel with 30 000 reserve members however their military defense budget of approximately 50 billion dollars gives them the sixth highest military spend in the world even though it's just 1.2 percent of the country's gdp clearly this isn't being frittered away on masses of manpower instead germany focuses more on military research and weapon advancement something that helped them make great gains in the second world war they're in the process of developing a state-of-the-art semi-autonomous weapon system linking drones satellites and fighter and reconnaissance aircraft these will add to their moderately sized military arsenal which includes 712 aircraft 245 tanks and 4583 armored vehicles so even though germany has been bound by military constraints for the best part of a century their smart investments have kept them unprecedentedly powerful and speaking of smart investments why don't you make one right now by hitting those like and subscribe buttons go ahead declare all-out war on those things italy germany wasn't the only country to be slapped with military limitations following the second world war after see-sawing between winning and losing sides italy's military was also limited in size its royal army alone has seen 2.56 million soldiers serve but to assure peace with the allied nations this was reduced to a mere 250 000 maximum personnel but fast forward to today and italy like germany is now a key nato ally its privileged position in the mediterranean region makes it a valuable strategic foothold for the defense of nato's southern flank to support this italy now has approximately 175 000 active personnel making up their armed forces all powered by a modest military budget of 18.1 billion dollars now compared to germany's 50 billion dollars this may not sound like much but a large portion of this goes towards developing italy's naval capabilities which currently sports 249 assets including two aircraft carriers and nine destroyers all up this means italy has the 11th largest naval fleet in the world and that's pretty important considering it has almost thousand seven hundred and fifty miles of coastline on the mediterranean sea without this seaborne defense italy would be vulnerable to attacks from volatile countries across the water like syria or israel but should those nations ever decide to attack italy won't go down without a fight its land force has 200 tanks and nearly 7 000 armored vehicles which works out to roughly one vehicle for every 25 active troops on top of that they have 860 available aircraft with 99 fighters and 38 transport vehicles this means they're ready to mobilize troops by land air or sea all before you can say mamma mia turkey throughout history turkey has constantly been referred to as the army nation and with very good reason born out of a war of independence with the old ottoman empire turkey was declared a republic less than 100 years ago in 1923 but today they share several borders with volatile nations such as syria iraq and iran not exactly an enviable position to be in to ensure they can defend their own soil in the wake of any sudden conflict they've built up a massive military presence the country currently boasts an impressive 355 000 active troops with a further 380 000 reserves but how has turkey managed to attract so many recruits well technically they don't have to recruit their secret lies in conscription laws which state all males aged 20 to 41 must enroll into military service for a minimum of six months but they're not the only ones protecting their borders since 1952 turkey has been a proud and prominent member of nato by establishing themselves as a valuable ally nato created the allied land command to help defend turkey from any kind of attack with 12 strong allies behind it turkey grasped the opportunity to begin investing in military equipment today they have approximately 8 800 armored vehicles as well as 2 622 tanks to defend their 1750 miles of shared borders and with an intimidating 1055 military aircraft they also have the world's ninth largest air force at their fingertips but maintaining a military against unstable territories comes at a cost in 2020 the turkish defense budget reached 19.7 billion dollars taking up a whopping 2.7 of the country's gdp it sounds like a lot but if you were neighbors with those volatile nations i reckon you'd want some serious financial firepower as well brazil now you might not think that brazil a country famous for its rainforests festivals and football would have a prolific military presence but what you may not know is that brazil was actually under a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. despite throwing the shackles of that oppressive regime off brazil still clings to the strength of its militarized past through its ex-army president bolsonaro under his reign brazil is amassed around 334 000 active personnel along with an immense 1.3 million reserve members although it's not just brazil's patriotic spirit making up the ranks of its soldiers but a strict conscription law as well every male between the ages of 18 and 45 must enlist for roughly 10 to 12 months this explains why brazil has the sixth largest reserve force in the entire world but all that manpower is a huge drain on its financials the country's defense budget of 27.8 billion dollars is dominated by personnel expenses which makes up roughly 73 of its overall spend the little that's left over is earmarked for inactive military including payment of pensions as such the country has a small but even spread of equipment across its army navy and air force with 715 military aircraft and 437 tanks there's certainly a force to be reckoned with but with just 126 transport aircraft and less than 2 000 armored vehicles all that manpower can't be transported in any kind of hurry it just goes to show that a country's military prowess relies on much more than just masses of manpower egypt egypt has long been regarded as one of the most advanced and modern countries in the middle east but it's not always had a strong militaristic reputation from 1947 to 1973 egypt took on israel in five separate wars and astoundingly lost all of them fortunately under the guidance of the united states in 1979 both nations signed a peace treaty one which saw egypt receive a huge amount of military and economic aid from the us but following a military coup in 2013 the u.s put a hold on all its military support this led egyptian president abdul fattah el-sisi to build a stronger set of armed forces through any means necessary he adjusted the country's conscription laws dictating all males aged 18 to 30 must complete one to three years of military service not only that but they must remain in the country's military reserve for up to nine years this has provided egypt with approximately 440 000 active personnel along with a sizable 480 000 in reserves they make up the country's army navy air force and separate air defense force which specifically defends egypt from air based attacks even though the military dictatorship has been heavily criticized by many countries the manpower it's produced has been essential in hunting down and fighting against terrorist groups in this nations such as the us have reaffirmed their support for egypt and china even sold them several state-of-the-art wing loom drones to aid in the fight against terrorism with this assistance egypt's military equipment has been massively modernized they currently own a humongous 4295 tanks 11 700 armored vehicles and 1084 rocket projectors giving them the fourth largest land force in the world and with just over 1500 miles of coastline they've procured two mistral-class aircraft carriers to support their 303 dedicated fighter aircraft that's a whole lot of firepower and i thought egypt's pyramids were huge united kingdom it's well known that the little island nation of the uk once had a military that spanned the globe covering about 25 of the world at the height of the british empire its strong military history helped it come out on top in both world wars and even though those days are long behind it it still retains a powerful military presence however its royal navy army air force marines and british gurkhas are roughly comprised of just 150 000 active duty personnel with only 36 000 in reserve it's a surprisingly low number but that's because the uk focuses on training elite squads of soldiers instead of relying on masses of manpower and this kind of cutthroat efficiency also extends to all their available military equipment their naval fleet of just 88 ships including two queen elizabeth aircraft carriers are used to maintain approximately 145 overseas bases in 42 countries these strategically placed stations make the tiny island a hugely important ally to nato as it's ready to strike and logistically support any alliance members who might come under attack and since it announced its exit from the european union in 2016 the uk has been steadily increasing its defense budget year after year with a promise of 55.4 billion dollars in 2021 but even though they recently severed ties with the european union they're still more than ready for a worst-case scenario conflict they possess a phenomenal 215 strategic nuclear warheads along with four vanguard-class trident nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines this sea-based nuclear deterrent makes it clear that even though its military isn't as strong as it used to be britannia still clearly rules the waves france even though it's been long associated with fine wine cheese and white flags you might be surprised to learn that france actually has the largest military in the european union with approximately 268 000 active personnel and 183 000 in reserve this all volunteer manpower makes up the five branches of france's military those are the army navy air force national guard and national gender marry who all report directly to the president of france the latter two are technically police forces which sit under the jurisdiction of the ministry of the interior which is responsible for the general security of the country but they don't just defend french soil as a founding member of nato they've played a fundamental role in tackling international terrorism and have approximately 30 000 troops deployed overseas despite this impressive international presence france has seen more than 40 terrorist-related incidents on its own soil since the year 2000. as such it's drastically increased its military budget from 33.8 billion in 2000 to a staggering 53.9 billion in 2020. much of this goes towards purchasing developing and maintaining their equipment like their 1229 aircraft which make up the eighth largest air force in the world they also own an amazing four aircraft carriers as part of their 180-ship strong naval fleet that's almost 100 more than the uk and it's not just their numbers that are intimidating because the underwater portion of that fleet carries submarine-launched ballistic missiles these are designed to deliver france's nuclear warheads of which it has a terrifying 290 in total fortunately france has assured the rest of the world that these are just a life insurance policy to deter any future invasion attempts with all that nuclear firepower on their side it's safe to say that anyone who tries to mess with france will end up as french toast south korea when japan surrendered after world war ii the end of their 35-year annexation of korea split the peninsula into two zones of occupation the then u.s controlled south korea and communist north korea but in 1950 the north launched a full-scale invasion on the south which lasted for three long years even though both sides signed an armistice treaty in 1953 that ended the hostilities the countries are technically still at war with the constant threat of attack or invasion from north korea looming over them it's no surprise south korea has a colossal 580 000 active troops in its ranks and a staggering 3.1 million in reserves compared to north korea's 1.28 million active and 600 000 reserves the south is a sizable opposition and as you probably guessed these numbers mainly come from the country's universal conscription service this sees all male citizens between the ages of 18 to 28 serve in the military for an average of 20 months their laws are so strict that not even their pop stars are exempt from service alongside their huge amount of manpower they also command the fifth largest number of military aircraft in the world with approximately 414 fighter planes and 112 dedicated attack helicopters their land force contains a massive 14 000 armored vehicles and 2614 tanks while their navy is sitting pretty on two colossal aircraft carriers 12 destroyers and 111 patrol boats all of this comes from their 48 billion defense budget which makes up more than 2.7 percent of their gdp but for all their equipment the south adheres to strict non-proliferation policies on nuclear weapons north korea on the other hand has developed between 30 to 40 nuclear warheads which they're not afraid to show off fortunately the south has close defense ties with america china and the uk to help defend them from external attacks after all who needs a few nukes when you have big powerful friends with lots of nukes japan after their disastrous involvement in the second world war japan like italy and germany had to abide by some serious military restrictions the country's entire military was disbanded they were banned from using war to settle international disputes and they were prohibited from ever maintaining a military again but in 1954 they were given permission to establish the japanese self-defense force which are explicitly authorized to defend japan and maintain the peace within its borders so not only is this force one of the youngest in the world but it's also one of the smallest its air ground and maritime divisions consist of just over 247 000 active personnel with a mere 56 000 in reserve that's a little over a fifth of the manpower their warmongering neighbor korea has however their real power isn't in their troops but in their tech with a defense budget of 51.7 billion dollars japan's technology defense sector has created some of the most advanced weaponry in the world like its multi-tier defense system against ballistic missiles state-of-the-art stealth fighter jets and continuing development of hypersonic missiles which will fly three times faster than the speed of sound their unmatched technical capabilities have made them an invaluable ally allowing them to establish an intelligence sharing pact with south korea and a strong security relationship with the usa but they're not just relying on the firepower of their friends to defend themselves from an oversea invasion japan has four aircraft carriers to support 1561 military aircraft which work alongside their 40 destroyers of a 155 strong naval fleet so should a certain north korean dictator get any bright ideas about attacking this little island nation you can guarantee he'll be blown out of the water india india currently ranks as the seventh largest country in the world with the second largest population although it used to be much bigger it was partitioned from neighboring pakistan in 1947 with its east section eventually becoming the secular state of bangladesh but since the partition border conflicts with bangladesh and pakistan as well as china and nepal have put india on a constant war footing to defend these disputed borders its military consists of a huge 1.4 million active personnel with 2.1 million in reserve but what makes this so astonishing is that india has never had a mandatory military service meaning it has the single largest unconscripted military in the world this doesn't just encompass an army navy and air force but also extends to their central armed police specialist and civil defense forces their navy boasts a fully equipped aircraft carrier and a strong fleet of submarines and patrol boats to guard its 4393 miles of coastline and their air force with over 2 000 capable aircraft makes them the fourth most formidable thing in the sky it supports this with a sizable 73.65 billion dollar defense budget but with the cost of living being so low in india less than half of that is designated for maintenance pay infrastructure and expenses this means a mammoth 18.52 billion dollars is earmarked for new weapon purchases which includes 22 cutting-edge mq-9 reaper drones six p-8i maritime surveillance aircraft and a brand new surface-to-air missile system as shiny and new as all of this tech is their biggest military asset comes in the form of their 150 strong stockpile of nuclear warheads while pakistan also wields 160 nuclear warheads it's enough to keep both sides at bay in the long term although they might be aimed at their other much larger neighbor as well speaking of which china in the year 2000 china had a staggeringly sized army of 3.9 million active soldiers but even with all that manpower the command structure of the people's liberation army or pla for short was archaic this rendered its army navy and air force completely unprepared for any kind of modern warfare after the us demonstrated its firepower in china's backyard throughout the gulf war and taiwan straits crisis china re-evaluated its military priorities and began investing in quality over quantity today it has a reduced 2.1 million active personnel with 510 000 in reserves while the country technically has a conscription law it supposedly hasn't been implemented since 1949 instead china relies on patriotic volunteers however its recruitment videos have been labeled as propaganda and highly criticized for including frame for frame scenes of hollywood movies regardless of this it's still the largest active duty military force in the world although the pla itself has been completely restructured and modernized its ground force navy and air force are joined by a rocket force and strategic support force though unconfirmed they've also purported to have an elite cyber warfare squad though their existence is disputed they've been accused by the uk japan india the us and many more of hacking and espionage the cyber warfare capabilities these experts have are some of the most extensive and well practiced in the world but that's not surprising if you look at their funding china has clearly benefited from a monumental boost in its defense budget which increased from 22.9 billion dollars in 2000 to an eye-watering 273 billion dollars in 2020. for a little perspective india japan south korea france and the uk have a combined defense budget of 250 billion dollars but thanks to its thriving economy all that moolah makes up just 1.9 of china's gdp but this budget also goes a long way to fueling their threatening 320 nuclear missiles as much as all those missiles may set your teeth on edge it's not all that much when you compare it to their notoriously nuclear northern neighbor russia at the height of the 44 year long cold war the soviet union and united states kept each other at bay with a threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction russia like many countries had race to produce as much military equipment personnel and nuclear weaponry as it could but by 1991 when the threat of an all-out nuclear war had blessedly simmered down the consequences of decades of stockpiling hit russia like a freight train in 1992 following the fall of the soviet union russia engaged in a small war with georgia despite having almost 1.9 million active troops little georgia amazingly resisted a crushing defeat all that aging equipment stockpiled over decades and an over-reliance on conscription had left russia unbelievably weak as such russia began a series of military reforms today it has just over 1 million active personnel with around 2 million in reserves this is thanks to russia's strict conscription law which sees every male aged between 18 and 27 serve for at least 12 months but president putin recently vowed to put an end to it in order to develop a more professional military although seeing how their military demonstrations can involve soldiers breaking flaming cinderblocks on each other's chests i'm not sure the term professional does them justice but in terms of equipment the country has roughly 13 000 tanks 27 000 armored vehicles and more than 14 000 rocket projectors and artillery with over 4 000 aircraft an aircraft carrier and over 600 naval assets it's a formidable force over land air and sea even though a vast portion of its equipment is outdated by modern warfare standards it hasn't stopped russia from making [ __ ] moves like the recent annexation of crimea or its intervention in the syrian civil war but that might come from the confidence it has regarding its nuclear capabilities you see russia has a terrifying 4 315 active nuclear warheads in its back pocket but maintaining this massive arsenal along with the rest of its military puts its defense budget at just 65.1 billion dollars it may not sound like a lot compared to china but that's roughly 3.9 percent of russia's gdp however both russia and china somehow fall short on the financial side compared to the number one military power in the world united states of america it's hardly a surprise thanks to all of president trump's boastful tweets that the united states of america undisputedly has the mightiest military in the world they played a crucial role in world war ii and managed to outlast the urge to push the big red nuclear button during the cold war but as of the 21st century they've only claimed a conclusive victory in five of the twelve wars they've participated in these victories include the invasion of iraq operation ocean shield operation observant compass and two interventions in libya this is because the united states military strength isn't derived from dominance but deterrence it's voluntarily drafted 1.4 million active personnel and 860 thousand reserves make up america's army navy air force coast guard and who could forget space force this also includes the 160 thousand troops it is stationed in more than 150 countries around the world along with 60 000 to seventy thousand troops deployed in combat in the middle east but it's not just manpower they have plenty of america has more air power than any other nation on earth with more than thirteen thousand military aircraft at its disposal the us also leads the world with nearly 40 000 armored vehicles 91 navy destroyers and an astounding 20 aircraft carriers and these aren't your granddaddy's antique war making machines the us is constantly investing in the latest military tech like the xq58a valkyrie a drone designed to fly alongside human pilots to help them see further and fight better and like that wasn't overkill enough it also has a stockpile of 3 800 nuclear warheads but all this war power doesn't come cheap in 2020 america spent an insurmountable 738 billion dollars on its defense for contrast the combined defense bill of every other country on this list is 678.8 billion dollars i guess everything really is bigger in the us of a in light of what makes a country's military powerful which element do you think makes the most difference let me know down in the comments and if you want to take a look at the other end of the spectrum why not check out my video on the weakest armies in the world i'll leave a link in the description and thanks for watching

Channel: BE AMAZED

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Keywords: beamazed, be amazed, top 10, most powerful armies in the world, strongest armies in the world, india strongest army, usa strongest army, why the usa is the most powerful military, which country has the strongest military

Id: XZ_i_glMcJs

Length: 30min 28sec (1828 seconds)

Published: Tue May 04 2021