No. 20. Canada
Budget: $15.7 billion
Active frontline personnel: 92,000
Tanks: 181
Total aircraft: 420
Submarines: 4
Canada ended
up at the bottom of the list because of the country's small number of
active personnel, its lack of aircraft carriers and attack helicopters,
and its small number of tanks and submarines. But Canada has still taken
part in US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it is a member of
the NATO military alliance.
Canada is also a partner in the US
F-35 program, although it may decline the purchase of F-35s depending on
the outcome of elections in October.
No. 19. Indonesia
Budget: $6.9 billion
Active frontline personnel: 476,000
Tanks: 468
Total aircraft: 405
Submarines: 2
The
Indonesian military placed above Canada because of its high numbers of
active personnel and relatively large number of tanks. The military,
however, suffers from a lack of carriers and aircraft, as well as a
small number of submarines.
No. 18. Germany
Budget: $40.2 billion
Active frontline personnel: 179,046
Tanks: 408
Total aircraft: 663
Submarines: 4
The
German military ended up low on the list because of its lack of
power-projection platforms. Germany does not have an aircraft carrier
and has relatively few submarines, which, according to the Credit Suisse
methodology, drops its ranking.
But Germany does have a fair
number of attack helicopters. Recently, the country has started
considering offering military support to Eastern European NATO members.
No. 17. Poland
Budget: $9.4 billion
Active frontline personnel: 120,000
Tanks: 1,009
Total aircraft: 467
Submarines: 5
Poland
edges out Germany in the list because of its larger number of tanks and
a more fleshed-out submarine fleet. Poland has also drastically
increased its military spending in reaction to Russia's seizure of
Crimea and the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
No. 16. Thailand
Budget: $5.39 billion
Active frontline personnel: 306,000
Tanks: 722
Total aircraft: 573
Submarines: 0
Thailand's
military is currently in control of the country following a coup in May
2014. The military is a major player in maintaining Thai unity, and
Thailand receives strong scores from Credit Suisse for its number of
active personnel, its number of tanks, and its possession of an aircraft
carrier.
Thailand also scores well as it has an aircraft carrier, although it does not have an aircraft fleet to complement the vessel.
No. 15. Australia
Budget: $26.1 billion
Active frontline personnel: 58,000
Tanks: 59
Total aircraft: 408
Submarines: 6
Australia's
military is comparatively small — it receives bottom scores on the
report for the number of active personnel and the number of tanks. It
also receives near-bottom scores for the number of aircraft it has in
its fleet.
Credit Suisse boosts Australia's ranking because of its attack helicopters and submarines though.
No. 14. Israel
Budget: $17 billion
Active frontline personnel: 160,000
Tanks: 4,170
Total aircraft: 684
Submarines: 5
In
absolute terms, Israel has a small military. But with mandatory
military service, a large percentage of the Israeli population is
militarily ready. With a past history of being surrounded by aggressive
neighbors, Israel also has a large tank, aircraft, and attack-helicopter
fleet.
Israel also has qualitative military advantages. It
has space assets, advanced fighter jets, high-tech armed drones, and
nuclear weapons.
No. 13. Taiwan
Budget: $10.7 billion
Active frontline personnel: 290,000
Tanks: 2,005
Total aircraft: 804
Submarines: 4
Threatened
by China, which continues to have plans for how to invade and retake
the country, Taiwan has focused its military development on defensive
plans. As such, the island has the fifth-highest number of attack
helicopters on the list. It also has a fairly large fleet of aircraft
and a number of tanks.
No. 12. Egypt
Budget: $4.4 billion
Active frontline personnel: 468,500
Tanks: 4,624
Total aircraft: 1,107
Submarines: 4
The
Egyptian military is one of the oldest and largest armed forces in the
Middle East. It receives substantial financial aid from the US and has
the fifth-largest tank fleet in the world. It has over 1,000 M1A1 Abrams
tanks, many of which sit in storage and have never been used.
Egypt also has a relatively large aircraft force.
No. 11. Pakistan
Budget: $7 billion
Active frontline personnel: 617,000
Tanks: 2,924
Total aircraft: 914
Submarines: 8
The
Pakistani military is one of the largest forces in the world, in terms
of active personnel. Credit Suisse also credits the country with having
large tank, aircraft, and attack-helicopter fleets.
In addition,
Pakistan is thought to be building nuclear weapons at a fast-enough
rate that it could have the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal within
the following decade.
No. 10. Turkey
Budget: $18.2 billion
Active frontline personnel: 410,500
Tanks: 3,778
Total aircraft: 1,020
Submarines: 13
Turkey's
armed forces are one of the largest in the eastern Mediterranean.
Although lacking an aircraft carrier, only five countries on Credit
Suisse's list have more submarines than Turkey.
In addition, the country can lay claim to an impressively large tank fleet as well as numerous aircraft and attack helicopters.
Turkey is also a committed member of the F-35 program.
No. 9. UK
Budget: $60.5 billion
Active frontline personnel: 146,980
Tanks: 407
Total aircraft: 936
Submarines: 10
Although
the UK is planning to reduce the size of its armed forces by 20%
between 2010 and 2018, it can count on being able to project its power
around the world.
The Royal Navy is planning to put the HMS Queen
Elizabeth, an aircraft carrier that has a flight deck measuring 4.5
acres, into service in 2020, carrying 40 F-35B joint-strike fighters
across the globe.
No. 8. Italy
Budget: $34 billion
Active frontline personnel: 320,000
Tanks: 586
Total aircraft: 760
Submarines: 6
The
Italian military placed high on Credit Suisse's report because of the
country's possession of two active aircraft carriers. These carriers, in
addition to the country's relatively large submarine and
attack-helicopter fleets, drastically boosted Italy's ranking.
No. 8. Italy
Budget: $34 billion
Active frontline personnel: 320,000
Tanks: 586
Total aircraft: 760
Submarines: 6
The
Italian military placed high on Credit Suisse's report because of the
country's possession of two active aircraft carriers. These carriers, in
addition to the country's relatively large submarine and
attack-helicopter fleets, drastically boosted Italy's ranking.
No. 7. South Korea
Budget: $62.3 billion
Active frontline personnel: 624,465
Tanks: 2,381
Total aircraft: 1,412
Submarines: 13
South
Korea has been left with little choice but to have a large and capable
military in the face of potential North Korean aggression. With those
realities in mind, South Korea has a number of submarines, attack
helicopters, and active personnel.
The country also has numerous tanks and the sixth-largest air force in the world.
No. 6. France
Budget: $62.3 billion
Active frontline personnel: 202,761
Tanks: 423
Total aircraft: 1,264
Submarines: 10
The French military is relatively small, but highly trained, professional, and capable of force projection.
The
country has the nearly new aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, and
France routinely engages in military deployments throughout Africa to
help stabilize governments and fight against extremism.
No. 5. India
Budget: $50 billion
Active frontline personnel: 1,325,000
Tanks: 6,464
Total aircraft: 1,905
Submarines: 15
India
is one of the largest military powers on the planet. It has the most
active manpower of any country aside from China and the US, in addition
to the most tanks and aircraft of any country besides the US, China, or
Russia.
India also has access to nuclear weapons. It's expected to become the fourth-highest military spender on earth by 2020.
No. 4. Japan
Budget: $41.6 billion
Active frontline personnel: 247,173
Tanks: 678
Total aircraft: 1,613
Submarines: 16
In absolute terms, the Japanese military is relatively small. Nonetheless, the country is extremely well-equipped.
According
to Credit Suisse, it has the fourth-largest submarine fleet on the
list. Japan also has four aircraft carriers, although these vessels
are equipped only with helicopter fleets.
Japan also has the fourth-largest attack-helicopter fleet behind China, Russia, and the US.
No. 3. China
Budget: $216 billion
Active frontline personnel: 2,333,000
Tanks: 9,150
Total aircraft: 2,860
Submarines: 67
The
Chinese military has grown rapidly in terms of size and capability in
the past few decades. In terms of raw manpower, it's the largest
military in the world. It also has the second-largest tank fleet behind
Russia and the second-largest submarine fleet behind the US.
China
has also made rapid strides in its military-modernization program, now
developing a range of potentially game-changing military technologies,
including ballistic missiles and fifth-generation aircraft.
No. 2. Russia
Budget: $84.5 billion
Active frontline personnel: 766,055
Tanks: 15,398
Total aircraft: 3,429
Submarines: 55
The
Russian armed forces are the unquestioned second-strongest military
power in the world. Russia has the world's largest tank fleet, the
second-largest aircraft fleet behind the US, and the third-largest
submarine fleet behind the US and China.
The Kremlin's military
spending has increased by almost a third since 2008 and is expected to
grow 44% more in the next three years. Russia has also demonstrated its
ability to project force abroad with its deployment of soldiers to
Syria.
No. 1. US
Budget: $601 billion
Active frontline personnel: 1,400,000
Tanks: 8,848
Total aircraft: 13,892
Submarines: 72
Despite
sequestration and other spending cuts, the US spends more money — $601
billion — on defense than the next nine countries on Credit Suisse's
index combined.
America's biggest conventional-military advantage
is its fleet of 10 aircraft carriers. In comparison India, which is
constructing its third carrier, it has the second-most carriers in the
world.
The US also has by far the most aircraft of any country,
cutting-edge technology like the Navy's new rail gun, a large and
well-trained human force — and that's not even counting the world's
largest nuclear arsenal.