Pakistan 13th among 25 most powerful world armies

LAHORE: With a total military strength of 919,000 personnel, total aircraft might of 951 and a defense budget of $7 billion, the Pakistani armed forces have been ranked 13th amongst the 25 most powerful world militaries, according to a fairly recent February 26, 2018 report of an American financial and business news website "Business Insider."

The "Business Insider," which operates international editions in the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Germany, France, South Africa, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nordics, Poland and Singapore, has revealed that Pakistani Army has 197 naval assets, 301 fighter aircraft, 2,924 combat tanks.

This American news website, which publishes several international editions in languages including Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Polish and Japanese, has actually carried the "2017 Military Strength Rankings" of another globally-renowned website called "Global Firepower."

Global Firepower's "2017 Military Strength Rankings" claims it has taken more than 50 factors to assign a Power Index score to 133 countries as head-to-head military comparisons are harder to draw because Arms sales only indicates who is beefing up their armed forces.

In fact, this website has tried to fill that void of assigning rankings to the most powerful world armies. The Global Firepower states on its website that since 2006, it has provided its unique analytical display of data concerning over 130 modern military powers.

It asserts its ranking is based on each nation's potential (conventional) war-making capability across land, sea and air. "The results incorporate values related to resources, finances and geography with over 50 different factors ultimately making up the final annual rankings. The results provide an interesting look into an increasingly volatile global landscape where war seems an inevitability," the Global Firepower website maintains.

Coming back to the February 26, 2018 report of the "Business Insider," it adds: "The ranking assesses the diversity of weapons held by each country and pays particular attention to the manpower available. The geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of local industry are also taken into account. While recognized nuclear powers receive a bonus, the nuclear stockpiles are not factored into the score. Moreover, countries that are landlocked are not docked points for lacking a navy, though they are penalized for not having a merchant marine force. Countries with navies are penalized if there is a lack of diversity in their naval assets."

Here follow the rankings in this context:

1. United States (total population: 323,995,528, total military personnel: 2,363,675, total aircraft: 13,762, fighter aircraft: 2,296, combat tanks: 5,884, total naval assets: 415 (19 aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $587.8 billion).

2. Russia (total population: 142,355,415, total military personnel: 3,371,027, total aircraft: 3794, fighter aircraft: 806, combat tanks: 20,216, total naval assets: 352 (one aircraft carrier) and Defense budget: $44.6 billion).

3. China (total population: 1,373,541,278, total military personnel: 3,712,500, total aircraft: 2955, fighter aircraft: 1271, combat tanks: 6457, total naval assets: 714 (one aircraft carrier) and Defense budget: $161.7 billion).

4. India (total population: 1,266,883,598, total military personnel: 4,207,250, total aircraft: 2102, fighter aircraft: 676, combat tanks: 4426, total naval assets: 295 (three aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $51 billion).

5. France (total population: 66,836,154, total military personnel: 387,635, total aircraft:1305, fighter aircraft: 296, combat tanks: 406, total naval assets: 118 (four aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $35 billion).

6. United Kingdom (total population: 64,430,428, total military personnel: 232,675, total aircraft: 856, fighter aircraft: 88, combat tanks: 249, total naval assets: 76(two aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $45.7 billion).

7. Japan (total population: 126,702,133, total military personnel: 311,875, total aircraft: 1594, fighter aircraft: 288, combat tanks: 700, total naval assets: 131 (four aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $43.8 billion).

8. Turkey (total population: 80,274,604, total military personnel: 743,415, total aircraft: 1018, fighter aircraft: 207, combat tanks: 2445, total naval assets: 194 and Defense budget: $8.2 billion).

9. Germany (total population: 80,722,792, total military personnel: 210,000, total aircraft: 698, fighter aircraft: 92, combat tanks: 543, total naval assets: 81 and Defense budget: $ 39.2 billion).

10. Egypt (total population: 94,666,993, total military personnel: 1,329,250, total aircraft: 1132, fighter aircraft: 337, combat tanks: 4110, total naval assets: 319 (two aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $4.4 billion).

11. Italy (total population: 62,007,540, total military personnel: 267,500, total aircraft: 822, fighter aircraft: 79, combat tanks: 200, total naval assets: 143 (two aircraft carriers) and Defense budget: $34 billion).

12. South Korea (total population: 50,924,172, total military personnel: 5,829,750, total aircraft: 1477, fighter aircraft: 406, combat tanks: 2654, total naval assets: 166 (one aircraft carrier) and Defense budget: $43.8 billion).

As stated above, the Pakistani military has been ranked 13th amongst the 25 most powerful world armies.

The countries that have lesser military might than Pakistan are Indonesia at 14, Israel at 15, Vietnam at 16, Brazil at 17, Taiwan at 18, Poland at 19, Thailand at 20, Iran at 21, Australia at 22, North Korea at 23, Saudi Arabia at 24 and Algeria has the 25th most powerful armed forces of the world.