Special Report

The Countries with the Most Military Ships and Submarines in the World

Philippe Chagniot / Wikimedia Commons

The strongest militaries in the world are largely defined by their naval assets. Among the most valuable of these assets is the aircraft carrier. World War II was won in large part due to these behemoths and the massive territories they can control. However, naval power goes further than just aircraft carriers. Submarines, corvettes and support ships each play an integral role in how any country projects power in the ocean.

The United States is considered the strongest naval power on the planet, although it does not have the largest fleet. The fact that the U.S. Navy is home to 11 aircraft carriers, which are host to hundreds of aircraft, is what makes it one of the strongest in the world. Comparatively, other rival nations have at most two aircraft carriers, but the bulk of any given navy in the top quartile of the world is a mix of many different ships and subs. (These are the U.S. Navy’s newest ships.)

To identify the countries with the most military ships and submarines, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of military ships and submarines in their fleet. We included supplemental information regarding submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, corvettes, patrol vessels, and frigates, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.

Sweden’s recent admission to NATO adds a strong naval component to the overall alliance. With over 350 ships in its fleet, Sweden is capable of keeping a watchful eye on the North Atlantic and practically everything in the Baltic Sea.

It’s worth noting that submarines are a highly valuable asset for any navy and as such they are somewhat hard to come by in terms of production. The United States, Russia and China each have a sizable force of submarines individually but there is a great disparity between these nations and the rest of the world. Most countries with powerful navies, outside of these three, only have a handful of submarines at their disposal but they make up for this disparity with destroyers, corvettes and frigates. (These are the fastest military ships and submarines in the world.)

Here is a look at the countries with the most military ships and submarines:

30. Bangladesh

usnavy / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 117
  • Total submarines: 2
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 6
  • Frigates: 7
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 55
  • Military strength score: 0.5419 – #37 out of 145

29. United Kingdom

Sitikka / iStock via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 117
  • Total submarines: 10
  • Aircraft carriers: 2
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 11
  • Destroyers: 6
  • Patrol vessels:: 26
  • Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145

28. Morocco

cne-cna-c6f / Flickr / Public Domain
  • Total ships and submarines: 121
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 1
  • Frigates: 6
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 22
  • Military strength score: 1.0081 – #61 out of 145

27. Kuwait

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 123
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 0
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 106
  • Military strength score: 1.4261 – #77 out of 145

26. Qatar

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
  • Total ships and submarines: 123
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 4
  • Frigates: 0
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 20
  • Military strength score: 1.0789 – #63 out of 145

25. France

vale_t / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 128
  • Total submarines: 9
  • Aircraft carriers: 1
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 11
  • Destroyers: 10
  • Patrol vessels:: 15
  • Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145

24. Chile

usnavy / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 130
  • Total submarines: 4
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 8
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 40
  • Military strength score: 0.8128 – #52 out of 145

23. Nigeria

infomatique / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 133
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 1
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 109
  • Military strength score: 0.5619 – #39 out of 145

22. Brazil

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
  • Total ships and submarines: 134
  • Total submarines: 4
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 2
  • Frigates: 6
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 23
  • Military strength score: 0.1944 – #12 out of 145

21. Egypt

MC3 Scott Pittman/usnavy / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 140
  • Total submarines: 8
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 7
  • Frigates: 13
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 42
  • Military strength score: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145

20. Japan

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
  • Total ships and submarines: 155
  • Total submarines: 23
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 6
  • Frigates: 4
  • Destroyers: 36
  • Patrol vessels:: 6
  • Military strength score: 0.1601 – #7 out of 145

19. Spain

ooocha / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 168
  • Total submarines: 3
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 11
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 23
  • Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145

18. Turkey

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 186
  • Total submarines: 12
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 9
  • Frigates: 16
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 34
  • Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145

17. Greece

mscsealift / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 187
  • Total submarines: 11
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 13
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 35
  • Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145

16. Mexico

navalsurfaceforces / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 194
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 4
  • Frigates: 11
  • Destroyers: 5
  • Patrol vessels:: 150
  • Military strength score: 0.4274 – #31 out of 145

15. South Korea

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 200
  • Total submarines: 22
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 5
  • Frigates: 17
  • Destroyers: 13
  • Patrol vessels:: 35
  • Military strength score: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145

14. Algeria

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 213
  • Total submarines: 6
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 16
  • Frigates: 8
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 75
  • Military strength score: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145

13. Myanmar

Goldquest / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 227
  • Total submarines: 3
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 3
  • Frigates: 6
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 124
  • Military strength score: 0.5251 – #35 out of 145

12. Colombia

Robert Sullivan / Flickr / Public Domain
  • Total ships and submarines: 237
  • Total submarines: 4
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 2
  • Frigates: 9
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 219
  • Military strength score: 0.7347 – #44 out of 145

11. Finland

dohne / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 246
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 0
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 8
  • Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145

10. Sri Lanka

ertyo5 / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 270
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 5
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 59
  • Military strength score: 1.3459 – #75 out of 145

9. Thailand

Goldquest / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 293
  • Total submarines: 0
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 6
  • Frigates: 7
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 49
  • Military strength score: 0.3389 – #25 out of 145

8. India

vale_t / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 294
  • Total submarines: 18
  • Aircraft carriers: 2
  • Corvettes: 18
  • Frigates: 12
  • Destroyers: 12
  • Patrol vessels:: 137
  • Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145

7. Italy

usnavy / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 309
  • Total submarines: 8
  • Aircraft carriers: 2
  • Corvettes: 0
  • Frigates: 13
  • Destroyers: 4
  • Patrol vessels:: 18
  • Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145

6. Indonesia

Reezky Pradata / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Total ships and submarines: 333
  • Total submarines: 4
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 25
  • Frigates: 8
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 205
  • Military strength score: 0.2251 – #13 out of 145

5. Sweden

  • Total ships and submarines: 353
  • Total submarines: 5
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 7
  • Frigates: 0
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 298
  • Military strength score: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145

4. United States

usnavy / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 472
  • Total submarines: 64
  • Aircraft carriers: 11
  • Corvettes: 23
  • Frigates: 0
  • Destroyers: 75
  • Patrol vessels:: 5
  • Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145

3. North Korea

High Contrast / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 505
  • Total submarines: 35
  • Aircraft carriers: 0
  • Corvettes: 4
  • Frigates: 1
  • Destroyers: 0
  • Patrol vessels:: 169
  • Military strength score: 0.5313 – #36 out of 145

2. China

navalsurfaceforces / Flickr
  • Total ships and submarines: 730
  • Total submarines: 61
  • Aircraft carriers: 2
  • Corvettes: 72
  • Frigates: 42
  • Destroyers: 49
  • Patrol vessels:: 150
  • Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145

1. Russia

Philippe Chagniot / Wikimedia Commons
  • Total ships and submarines: 781
  • Total submarines: 65
  • Aircraft carriers: 1
  • Corvettes: 83
  • Frigates: 12
  • Destroyers: 14
  • Patrol vessels:: 122
  • Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.