Top Five Military Powers of the World

Battle is something, which has been common to manhood from the initial time. So, to rule out any possible external threat, every country defends itself through military powers. The top military authorities struggle for superiority and concentrated attack power, and arm themselves to prevent aggressive states from any hostility. Here, we have discussed the “top five military powers of the world.”

United Kingdom

British armed forces are also securing a position in top five military powers of the world; their annual defence budget is $74 billion. British Armed Forces, which are also known as the Armed Forces of the Crown, encompass British Army, Royal Air Force and Naval Service. The military of United Kingdoms have strength of 184,160 regular and 36,190 volunteer spare employees.

4. India

The Indian military powers consist of the Air Force, Navy, Army and Indian Coast Guard, which perform their duties under the management of the Ministry of Defence. At this time, India maintains the eighth biggest defence budget in the world. Their current defence budget is $ 36 billion. Last year the budget stood at $46.8 billion. The mostly amount from the Indian defence budget had been spent to modernize the armed forces. According to an estimate, during last five years India spent about $50 billion to purchase new equipment. Currently India exists at 4^th in the list of top five military powers of the world.

3. China

China military sources, People’s Liberation Army, consist of sea, land, strategic missile and air forces. The PLA established in 1927, is the largest military force of the world, with almost 3 million soldiers. China’s military expenditures have grown about 10 % per annum since last 15 years. According to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, China may acquire military equality with the USA in coming 15–20 years if the spending trends remain same.

2. Russia

Russia, which is spread over 17,075,200 sq kms, allocates about $56 billion in their annual defense budget 2012. In the list of “top five military powers of the world,” Russia exists behind USA.  The military services of Russia, established after the disbanding of the Soviet Union. The president of Russia is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

1. USA

USA situated mostly in central North America, ranked first in the list of top five military powers of the world. Its total land area is 9,826,630 sq kms and the total annual defense budget is $692 billion, which is a 4.2% increase over 2011. For the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, an additional $118 billion budget has been proposed. In 2010, US military budget was almost $700 billion that was 43% of global military spending. The American army fought their last war against Afghanistan, during which, 484 servicemen were killed. Before it 4, 1,924 soldiers had been killed during the War in Afghanistan.

Top Five Military Powers of the World