Date: 2024-12-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00021537
MILITARY
MOST POWERFUL MILITARIES
According to STATISTA, China, Russia and the USA are the most powerful
MOST POWERFUL MILITARIES
According to STATISTA, China, Russia and the USA are the most powerful
Original article: https://www.statista.com/chart/20418/most-powerful-militaries/
Burgess COMMENTARY
The three most powerful militaries according to this analysis are the USA, China and Russia. Each of these has a very different power profile. These three have nuclear capabilities with very sophisticated ways of delivering devastation. China and Russia have the most people in uniform.
The USA has the most reach and ability to project power in most every corner of the globe ... but this might also be a weakness because of its potential to be stretched too thin. While the US has political support to spend an enormous amount on its military, popular support for waging war is low. This seems to be because politicians get support for bringing the economic benefit of a military base or procurement contracts to their district while people do not like to see casualities from their community or closer to home in their families.
I would like to see an analysis of national performance in respect of 'soft power' ... the ability of a nation to exert international influence because of diplomatic strength and competence !!!!
Peter Burgess
by Martin Armstrong,
Jan 14, 2022
When it comes to manpower, no military in the world comes close to that of China. According to Global Firepower estimates, the People's Republic has around 2 million active military personnel. The United States in comparison, has significantly less - 1.4 million - but when assessing the overall power of the world's military forces, the U.S. comes out on top, ahead of Russia and China in second and third, respectively.
With Russian military build up around Ukraine and increasingly aggressive posturing from the Kremlin, the chances of at least one of the world's most powerful militaries applying its strength in a major new conflict appear to be at their highest for some time. Diplomatic efforts have so far failed, and it now remains to be seen how Russia will act. Elsewhere, the risk of China and the United States clashing in some form over Taiwan remains ever-present.
The index 'utilizes over 50 individual factors to determine a given nation's PowerIndex score with categories ranging from military might and financials to logistical capability and geography.' While a rating of 0.000 would represent the perfect score, it is considered realistically unattainable.