When was Poland the greatest military power in Europe and today has an army larger than the United States and China combined?
Recent years may be remembered as those in which the global arms race resumed. Russia’s actions in Ukraine have reminded NATO countries of how much they have neglected their defense. Southeast Asian countries are looking with concern at China, whose economy is slowing but its military spending is increasing. Africa is arming itself at record speed.
The largest armies in the world by number
Perhaps this tense atmosphere prompted Martin Vargic to create the chart below, in which he lists the world’s largest armies over time, from 2500 BC to today:
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As you can see, this historic run culminated in World War II. However, with technological progress, the size of the army itself becomes less important, and what matters is its equipment and training. It is therefore difficult to compare the potential of the United States in 1950 with that of the Ming Dynasty army in 1500, despite similar numbers of soldiers.
The division of graphics between Eastern and Western countries, which are implicitly antagonistic, can give rise to some controversy. So, for example, South Korea and North Korea are placed on opposite sides of the war barricade. But this approach made it possible to show, for example, the advantage that China had over European countries in the Middle Ages. And how quickly it melted over the following centuries.
The infographic data comes from “Encyclopedia Britannica”, resources of the British think tank IISS and Wikipedia. In his estimates, the author took into account not only soldiers in active military service – China would then have the largest army in the “East” and the “West” would be led by the United States – but also paramilitary organizations. In the case of North Korea, this is primarily the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Guard, which has 3.5 million members.
The most powerful armies in the world: how big is the Polish army?
Since the size of the military in the 21st century does not directly translate into its capabilities, in the latest ranking of the world’s most powerful militaries by Global Firepower, only South Korea makes the top ten. And North Korea was far behind Poland:
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