Countries with the Best Military Strength Scores in 2023

Based on a report released by the Lowy Institute, several countries achieved high scores in military strength in 2023.

The United States ranked first, with a score of 90.7 out of 100 points. Significantly behind in second place was China, with 68.1 points.

Russia took third place with 52.5 points, followed by India (44.1 points) in fourth and South Korea (33.1 points) in fifth.

Among the top 10 countries, Japan, Australia, and Singapore each saw their scores increase by one point from the previous study. North Korea's score decreased by two points, and Pakistan's by one point.

The Lowy Institute measured conventional military strength using several indicators, including defense spending, armed forces and organization, weapons and defense equipment, distinctive capabilities, and the military posture of several countries, primarily in Asia.

Military capability was calculated using a weighted average score across 5 sub-measures and 22 indicators.

"In 2023, the scores for most of the top 10 countries remained stable in terms of military capability," wrote the Lowy Institute on its website.

These findings are based on original Lowy Institute research, while the remaining data was drawn from hundreds of publicly available national and international sources. It is important to note that the Lowy Institute's data does not encompass the entire world's military capabilities, but only those of 26 countries.

The following are the top 10 countries with the best military capability scores according to the Lowy Institute 2023:

• United States: 90.7 out of 100 points


• China: 68.1 points


• Russia: 52.5 points


• India: 44.1 points


• South Korea: 33.1 points


• Japan: 27.4 points


• Australia: 26 points


• North Korea: 25.7 points


• Singapore: 24.4 points


• Pakistan: 23.8 points

(See also: Russia's Military Spending Among the Top Five in the World)