Two Countries That Would Love to Overtake the US Military

The United States still has the world’s strongest military, thanks to its high spending, advanced weapons, and a broad number of global partnerships. However, recent moves by President Trump’s foreign policy team have started to shift this balance. Trump’s administration has pushed for agreements like a ceasefire in Ukraine, signaling a possible change in how […] The post Two Countries That Would Love to Overtake the US Military appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Mar 12, 2025 - 13:00

Two Countries That Would Love to Overtake the US Military

The United States still has the world’s strongest military, thanks to its high spending, advanced weapons, and a broad number of global partnerships. However, recent moves by President Trump’s foreign policy team have started to shift this balance. Trump’s administration has pushed for agreements like a ceasefire in Ukraine, signaling a possible change in how the U.S. confronts Russia. This has caused some concern among America’s European allies, who worry about reduced U.S. support against Russian threats.

At the same time, Trump’s team has strongly focused on China, especially due to concerns about China’s growing naval power and shipbuilding capacity. To counter this, the administration has called for increased investment in U.S. shipbuilding to maintain military strength in Asia. These policy changes suggest the U.S. is adjusting its strategy, placing more pressure on allies to defend themselves, while focusing resources on new challenges from Russia and China.

To analyze the global balance of military power further, 24/7 Wall St. took a deep dive into identifying the 30 countries with the strongest military forces. We compiled data from the Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. This report ranked 145 countries based on PowerIndex, a combination of over 60 categories, including military power, logistical capability, geography, and financial strength. The lower the PowerIndex value score, the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability.

The world’s strongest militaries possess diverse capabilities and strengths but also have some commonalities. Notably, countries towards the top of this have much larger military budgets and tend to have much larger air forces.

(This is an updated version of a previously published article that reflects revised PowerIndex data and rankings for the United States, Russia, and China)

Why We’re Writing About World Militaries

World map, Earth flat view. Detailed World physical map in satellite photo. Panoramic planet map with texture surface and ocean. Globe and planisphere theme. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Countries with powerful military forces exert considerable influence over global events. These are the countries whose cooperation is needed to solve world problems. 24/7 Wall St. wants its readers to be aware of which countries have the strongest influence over global issues.

Here is a look at the strongest militaries in the world.