Geopolitical tensions have been escalating around the world in recent years, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Speculation about which global powers would be triumphant when matched up head-to-head is an interesting thought experiment, especially when measuring up personnel and military might, among other factors.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict following Russia’s invasion has taken center stage in the world news over the last six months, and currently it appears to be at a standstill despite Russia having a military more than three times the size of Ukraine’s. Perhaps the main contributing factor to the standstill is the support Ukraine receives from allies, including NATO members. These are the current members of NATO.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an example of a regional alliance across the continent of Europe and even North America. It was formed post-World War II as a peacetime military alliance to assure a Germany resurgence or incursions from the Soviet Union.
Many other military alliances and treaty organizations exist across the world: the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, the Central Treaty Organization, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Each of these organizations seeks to protect the culture and countries of the region, expending deadly force if necessary to defend it.
Historically, countries have built up regional alliances as a way to hedge their bets and stave off foreign invaders. Natural boundaries like mountains or oceans help to create these regions, and often neighboring countries within these regions share some semblance of culture and thus a need to defend it. Here are the 30 largest militaries in the world.
To determine the global regions with the strongest military might, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Global Firepower’s 2022 Military Strength Ranking, which ranks 142 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 50 measures in categories such as military might (not including nuclear capabilities), economy, logistical capability, and geography. Based on the PowerIndex score, we assigned a value to each country and ranked the 19 global regions by combining the values for each nation within a region. The regions are based on convention and regional definitions from several governing bodies and may not be identical to any single source.
It is worth noting that while countries are divided into regions, that is not to say that nations within the same region would not go to war with each other — as we are currently seeing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Eastern Europe as a region ranks has the second most military might, with Russia the most powerful nation in the region followed by Ukraine. Russia ranks second in military might among nations.
As the world’s No. 1 ranked superpower, it is not surprising that the United States is the most powerful nation in North America. North America itself, however, only ranks fourth. Considering that Canada ranks 23 among countries and Mexico 43, the U.S. carries the region firmly.
Still, North America also ranks behind the Middle East/Western Asia and the No. 1 region, East Asia. With countries such as China (No. 3 among nations), Japan (No. 5), and South Korea (No. 6), the region, if it chooses to band together, would have considerable might. Of course, Japan and China have ongoing tensions, as do China and Taiwan and North and South Korea.
So here’s a look at how global regions measure up in terms of military might.
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19. Central America & The Caribbean
> Countries in region: 7
> Most Powerful Nation Cuba (1,236,000 personnel, 80 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Guatemala (116,500 personnel, 33 aircraft)
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Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
18. Southern Africa
> Countries in region: 3
> Most Powerful Nation South Africa (267,000 personnel, 225 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Botswana (9,000 personnel, 46 aircraft)
Source: RollingEarth / E+ via Getty Images
17. Central Africa
> Countries in region: 7
> Most Powerful Nation Angola (117,000 personnel, 299 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Democratic Republic of the Congo (110,000 personnel, 46 aircraft)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
16. Central Asia
> Countries in region: 5
> Most Powerful Nation Uzbekistan (65,000 personnel, 200 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Kazakhstan (77,000 personnel, 237 aircraft)
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Source: yoh4nn / iStock via Getty Images
15. West Africa
> Countries in region: 9
> Most Powerful Nation Nigeria (215,000 personnel, 140 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Ghana (14,000 personnel, 20 aircraft)
Source: Stocktrek Images / Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
14. East Africa
> Countries in region: 10
> Most Powerful Nation Ethiopia (150,000 personnel, 90 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Kenya (29,000 personnel, 151 aircraft)
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Source: Eddisonphotos / iStock via Getty Images
13. Oceania
> Countries in region: 2
> Most Powerful Nation Australia (79,000 personnel, 430 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation New Zealand (12,100 personnel, 47 aircraft)
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12. Balkans
> Countries in region: 8
> Most Powerful Nation Greece (385,500 personnel, 663 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Serbia (80,000 personnel, 117 aircraft)
Source: Leonid Andronov / iStock via Getty Images
11. North Africa
> Countries in region: 6
> Most Powerful Nation Algeria (465,000 personnel, 552 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Morocco (325,000 personnel, 249 aircraft)
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Source: naphtalina / E+ via Getty Images
10. Southern Europe
> Countries in region: 3
> Most Powerful Nation Italy (297,000 personnel, 862 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Spain (215,000 personnel, 503 aircraft)
Source: Yamtono_Sardi / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
9. Southeast Asia
> Countries in region: 9
> Most Powerful Nation Indonesia (1,080,000 personnel, 445 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Vietnam (510,000 personnel, 218 aircraft)
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Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images
8. South America
> Countries in region: 11
> Most Powerful Nation Brazil (2,100,000 personnel, 679 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Argentina (103,000 personnel, 218 aircraft)
Source: Scott Nelson / Getty Images
7. Northern Europe
> Countries in region: 10
> Most Powerful Nation United Kingdom (231,000 personnel, 693 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Sweden (38,000 personnel, 204 aircraft)
Source: omersukrugoksu / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
6. Western Europe
> Countries in region: 7
> Most Powerful Nation France (415,000 personnel, 1,055 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Germany (199,000 personnel, 617 aircraft)
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Source: Dinesh Ahir / iStock via Getty Images
5. South Asia
> Countries in region: 8
> Most Powerful Nation India (5,132,000 personnel, 2,182 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Pakistan (1,640,000 personnel, 1,387 aircraft)
Source: guvendemir / E+ via Getty Images
4. North America
> Countries in region: 3
> Most Powerful Nation United States (1,832,000 personnel, 13,247 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Canada (94,500 personnel, 380 aircraft)
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Source: Uriel Sinai / Getty Images
3. The Middle East / Western Asia
> Countries in region: 17
> Most Powerful Nation Egypt (1,230,000 personnel, 1,062 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Turkey (775,000 personnel, 1,057 aircraft)
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Source: Alexander Aksakov / Getty Images
2. Eastern Europe
> Countries in region: 11
> Most Powerful Nation Russia (1,350,000 personnel, 4,173 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Ukraine (500,000 personnel, 318 aircraft)
Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
1. East Asia
> Countries in region: 6
> Most Powerful Nation China (3,134,000 personnel, 3,285 aircraft)
> Second-most powerful Nation Japan (309,000 personnel, 1,449 aircraft)
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