Evidence-led global security landscape
World Index.
Explore countries, institutions, intelligence services and designated entities alongside clearly dated capability, economic, defence and nuclear datasets.
Data editionAugust 2026
How to read this page
There is no official universal “strongest military” table. The conventional-capability ranking below reproduces Global Firepower’s private composite index, which uses more than 60 factors and excludes nuclear weapons. It should be read alongside economic capacity, actual expenditure, alliances, readiness, technology and nuclear forces—not as a definitive verdict.
Comparative national power
Sources ↓Top 10 rankings
2026 composite index
Lower score is strongerConventional military capability
| Rank | Country | GFP PwrIndx |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 🇺🇸United States | 0.0741 |
| 02 | 🇷🇺Russia | 0.0791 |
| 03 | 🇨🇳China | 0.0919 |
| 04 | 🇮🇳India | 0.1346 |
| 05 | 🇰🇷South Korea | 0.1642 |
| 06 | 🇫🇷France | 0.1798 |
| 07 | 🇯🇵Japan | 0.1876 |
| 08 | 🇬🇧United Kingdom | 0.1881 |
| 09 | 🇹🇷Türkiye | 0.1975 |
| 10 | 🇮🇹Italy | 0.2211 |
2026 projection
Nominal GDP · current US$Largest economies
| Rank | Country | GDP |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 🇺🇸United States | $32.38T |
| 02 | 🇨🇳China | $20.85T |
| 03 | 🇩🇪Germany | $5.45T |
| 04 | 🇯🇵Japan | $4.38T |
| 05 | 🇬🇧United Kingdom | $4.26T |
| 06 | 🇮🇳India | $4.15T |
| 07 | 🇫🇷France | $3.60T |
| 08 | 🇮🇹Italy | $2.74T |
| 09 | 🇷🇺Russia | $2.66T |
| 10 | 🇧🇷Brazil | $2.64T |
Resources committed to defence
SIPRI fact sheet ↗Top 10 military spenders
Calendar year 2025
Current US$ · SIPRI definitionMilitary expenditure
| Rank | Country | Spending | Share of GDP | World share | 2024–25 real change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 🇺🇸United States | $954B | 3.1% | 33% | −7.5% |
| 02 | 🇨🇳China | $336*B | 1.7%* | 12%* | +7.4% |
| 03 | 🇷🇺Russia | $190*B | 7.5%* | 6.6%* | +5.9% |
| 04 | 🇩🇪Germany | $114B | 2.3% | 3.9% | +24% |
| 05 | 🇮🇳India | $92.1B | 2.3% | 3.2% | +8.9% |
| 06 | 🇬🇧United Kingdom | $89.0B | 2.4% | 3.1% | −2.0% |
| 07 | 🇺🇦Ukraine | $84.1*B | 40%* | 2.9%* | +20% |
| 08 | 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia | $83.2*B | 6.5%* | 2.9%* | +1.4% |
| 09 | 🇫🇷France | $68.0B | 2.0% | 2.4% | +1.5% |
| 10 | 🇯🇵Japan | $62.2B | 1.4% | 2.2% | +9.7% |
Estimated inventories · beginning of 2026
FAS methodology ↗Nuclear-armed states
| Country | Military stockpile | Total inventory |
|---|---|---|
| 🇷🇺Russia | 4,400 | 5,420 |
| 🇺🇸United States | 3,700 | 5,042 |
| 🇨🇳China | 620 | 620 |
| 🇫🇷France | 290 | 370 |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | 225 | 225 |
| 🇮🇳India | 190 | 190 |
| 🇵🇰Pakistan | 170 | 170 |
| 🇮🇱Israel | 90 | 90 |
| 🇰🇵North Korea | 60 | 60 |
| Estimated global total | ≈9,745 | ≈12,187 |
Focused strategic dossiers
Important country profiles
Open a country for verified economic and defence trends, strategic factors, nuclear estimates and key history. India includes an expanded 1947–2026 timeline.
🇺🇸
Country profile
Explore dossier →
🇷🇺United States
Global power with worldwide force-projection capacity
- GDP
- $32.38T
- Defence
- $954B
- GFP rank
- 1st
Country profile
Explore dossier →
🇨🇳Russia
Nuclear superpower with extensive missile and continental land forces
- GDP
- $2.66T
- Defence
- $190B*
- GFP rank
- 2nd
Country profile
Explore dossier →
🇮🇳China
Rapidly modernizing military power focused on the Indo-Pacific
- GDP
- $20.85T
- Defence
- $336B*
- GFP rank
- 3rd
Country profile
Explore dossier →
🇮🇱India
Indian Ocean power with a nuclear triad and expanding indigenous industry
- GDP
- $4.15T
- Defence
- $92.1B
- GFP rank
- 4th
Country profile
Explore dossier →
🇵🇰Israel
Technologically advanced Middle Eastern military with layered air defence
- GDP
- $719.8B
- Defence
- $48.3B
- GFP rank
- 15th
Country profile
Explore dossier →
Pakistan
Nuclear-armed South Asian state with a security focus on India
- GDP
- $407.8B
- Defence
- $11.9B
- GFP rank
- 14th
Alliances and international architecture
Institutions & strategic groups
Compare organizations by mandate, membership and milestones. These bodies have different legal structures: not every strategic grouping is a military alliance.
Collective-defence allianceNATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Supranational political-economic unionEuropean Union
Political and economic union
Intergovernmental organizationUnited Nations
Global multilateral organization
Intergovernmental cooperation forumBRICS
Global South political-diplomatic forum
Eurasian intergovernmental organizationSCO
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Strategic diplomatic partnershipThe Quad
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
Defence and technology partnershipAUKUS
Australia–United Kingdom–United States partnership
Organization emblems and flags are shown for identification only. D&SI is not affiliated with or endorsed by these institutions.
Selected official designations
Open live UN list ↗Terrorist organizations
Al-Qaida
UN ISIL/Al-Qaida sanctions regime · India UAPA frameworkTransnational terrorist network and associated regional entities.
ISIL (Da’esh)
UN ISIL/Al-Qaida sanctions regime · India UAPA frameworkTerrorist organization with listed branches and affiliates.
Lashkar-e-Taiba
UN listed entity · India First Schedule to UAPAPakistan-based organization designated under international and Indian frameworks.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
UN listed entity · India First Schedule to UAPAOrganization designated by the UN Security Council and Government of India.
Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent
UN listed entity · applicable Indian legal frameworkRegional Al-Qaida affiliate established in 2014.
ISIL-Khorasan
UN listed entity · applicable Indian legal frameworkAfghanistan-centred affiliate of ISIL, also known as ISKP.
Boko Haram
UN listed entity · incorporated through UN-linked Indian scheduleNigeria-based organization listed under the UN sanctions regime.
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan
UN listed entity · incorporated through UN-linked Indian schedulePakistan-based umbrella organization listed by the UN Security Council.
The UN list imposes targeted sanctions; it is not a “most wanted” list. India’s First Schedule to the UAPA and related UN-linked entries are separate legal instruments. Always consult the live official record.
Government of India · NIA
Verify with NIA ↗Selected prominent wanted individuals
Selected individuals appearing in official NIA records. This is not a ranking and does not reproduce the complete NIA directory.
01Masood Azhar
JeM · NIA cases RC-02/2019/JMU, RC-03/2022/JMU and RC-01/2016/DLI
02Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
LeT/JuD · NIA case RC-04/2009/DLI
03Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
LeT · NIA case RC-04/2009/DLI
04Sajid Majid (Sajid Mir)
LeT · NIA case RC-04/2009/DLI
Major publicly known services
Intelligence agencies
There is no authoritative “best intelligence agency” ranking. Missions, oversight, budgets and performance are partly classified, so these services are presented by country context—not ranked by capability.
CIA
Foreign intelligence and national-security analysis
SIS / MI6
Foreign intelligence service
R&AW
External intelligence service
Mossad
Foreign intelligence and special operations
MSS
Civilian intelligence and state-security service
FSB
Domestic security and counter-intelligence service
DGSE
External security and foreign intelligence
BND
Federal foreign intelligence service
ASIS
Foreign intelligence service
ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence directorate
Primary and specialist datasets
Sources & methodology
IMFWorld Economic Outlook · April 2026
Nominal GDP projections in current U.S. dollars.
SIPRIMilitary Expenditure · April 2026Consistent 2025 national expenditure and burden estimates.
FASStatus of World Nuclear Forces · 2026Estimated stockpiles, deployments and total inventories.
NATOOfficial member-country listAlliance membership and accession history.
GFPMilitary Strength Ranking · 2026Private conventional-capability index using 60+ factors.
UNSCConsolidated sanctions listLive official record for listed individuals and entities.
NIAMost Wanted directoryLive Government of India record for current status verification.
Last reviewed 8 August 2026. Estimates and projections are snapshots, not live operational intelligence. Rankings depend on definitions and methodology; classified readiness, stocks and capabilities cannot be fully represented in public data.