Russia perceived to have world’s “strongest military” – US News rankings
Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan both in the Top 25.
US News & World Report might be best known these days for its ranking of top universities and colleges. But the organization is also in the business of ranking the world’s “strongest militaries,” and its survey for 2024 has Russia occupying the top spot as the globe’s most powerful army.
US News ranked militaries as part of a broader survey of the world’s “best countries.” Though supposedly possessing the strongest military establishment in the world, Russia ranked only 36th of 89 countries surveyed in the “best country” category.
The military rankings are guaranteed to raise eyebrows among military analysts, many of whom have widely criticized the performance of the Russian army in Ukraine as poorly trained and poorly led. According to US News’ methodology, the perception of power is perhaps the important factor in compiling the rankings. Apparently, nuclear saber-rattling is paying off for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s military ranking wasn’t the only surprise on the list. Uzbekistan’s army was ranked # 19 and Kazakhstan’s # 22, even though neither military force has been truly tested since the breakup of the Soviet Union. In the overall “best country” ranking, however, Uzbekistan came in at # 74 and Kazakhstan # 83.
Rounding out the top five militaries, according to US News, are the United States, Israel, China and South Korea. North Korea, whose troops recently joined Russia in fighting Ukrainian forces, does not appear in the US News rankings.
Azerbaijan, whose army overwhelmed Armenian forces during the Second Karabakh War, ranked only 29th in the US News military ranking and 81st in the best country category. Belarus came in dead last in the best country ranking but was deemed to have the world’s 12th strongest military.
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