scorecardresearch
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeDefenceIndia’s military retains 4th spot in global ranking, Pakistan drops to 17

India’s military retains 4th spot in global ranking, Pakistan drops to 17

Follow Us :
Text Size:

In the Global Firepower List 2018, third-ranked China leads India in terms of active military personnel with its 21.83 lakh personnel as against India’s 13.62 lakh.

New Delhi: India’s military has secured the fourth position on a global index of 136 countries ranked on the basis of their military capabilities, trailing behind United States, Russia and China.

While India has maintained its position among the top five nations in the Global Firepower (GFP) List 2018, Pakistan has slipped four spots to 17 from 13 in 2017.

The top three military powers too have held on to their ranks. France rounded up the top five. The United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Turkey and Germany complete the top 10, in that order.

Ireland, Montenegro and Liberia are three new additions to the list this year.

The GFP index ranked the countries based on 55 parameters, including military resources, geographical factors, logistical flexibility, natural resources, local industry and available manpower.


Also read: The enemy at the gates has a new weapon and Indian Army needs to wake up


India, China, Pakistan

China leads India in terms of active military personnel with its 21.83 lakh personnel as against India’s 13.62 lakh. Pakistan has 6.37 active personnel.

China’s defence budget continues to be over three times more than India’s.

India remains ahead of Pakistan on most parameters, but the number of attack helicopters available with the western neighbour is significantly higher at 49, compared to India’s 15.

An increase or decline in ranking can be related to equipment/manpower attrition, financial instability, population and resource fluxes, etc, said the report.

It also said that India is looking beyond its position as a top military importer to that of a top military exporter and has several high-profile programmes to market.

Pakistan’s military, however, continues to be challenged by internal unrest, disaster relief operations and standing global requirements in the fight against terrorism, added the report.

The GFP index didn’t consider nuclear stockpiles, but gave weightage to recognised and suspected nuclear powers in terms of additional bonus.

Available manpower was a key consideration in the ranking, a factor understood to have helped India and China significantly because of the strength of their armed forces.


Also read: Induction of K9 Vajra (Thunder) for Indian Army pulls India out of the past


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

2 COMMENTS

  1. The fact is that Pakistan is now a Chinese concubine, so what need to be seen is how India measures up against a combination of China AND Pakistan. Further Pakistan’s regulars are almost irrelevant as their Irregulars, (Taliban i.e. students of the Quran, by whatever name carrying out Ghazwa e Hind within India from Pakistan or elsewhere including India) are the real enormous force all over the World.

  2. These rankings are, in themselves, misleading. There may be the difference of one place between China and India, yet China is miles ahead in terms of national power. Lagging behind in most absolute measured, we rely heavily on rankings: eg. we are the fastest growing economy.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular