South Korea has maintained its position as the world’s fifth-strongest military power for the third consecutive year, trailing only the U.S., Russia, China, and India. Meanwhile, North Korea has climbed three spots to 31st place.
The latest 2026 Military Strength Ranking report, released on Tuesday by Global Firepower (GFP), a U.S.-based military analysis firm, assessed 145 countries worldwide. South Korea secured its fifth-place ranking with a military strength index of 0.1642. In this index, a score closer to zero indicates superior military capability.
South Korea first broke into the top ten in 2011, ranking seventh. The nation’s military prowess continued to improve, reaching sixth place in 2020 and finally breaking into the top five in 2024.
North Korea’s military strength index stands at 0.5933, placing it 31st globally. While the hermit kingdom initially ranked eighth in GFP’s inaugural 2005 assessment, it has generally trended downward since. However, recent years have seen a reversal of this trend, with North Korea climbing from 36th place in 2024 to 34th last year, and now to 31st.
The U.S. retains its position as the world’s preeminent military power with an index score of 0.0741. Following closely are Russia (0.0791), China (0.0919), and India (0.1346), all ranking ahead of South Korea. Rounding out the top ten are France (0.1798), Japan (0.1876), and the United Kingdom (0.1881).
Since 2005, GFP has conducted comprehensive evaluations of military strength, factoring in troop numbers, land, naval, and air forces, as well as defense budgets to determine each nation’s military power index.
It’s worth noting that asymmetric capabilities, such as nuclear weapons, are not factored into GFP’s assessments. Instead, the rankings focus on conventional forces, comparing the quantity of key assets like fighter jets and tanks. Interestingly, among the top five military powers, South Korea stands out as the only non-nuclear state.
