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Political scientists, analysts of various international rating agencies and other experts who assess the power and influence of different countries of the world have not yet been able to develop uniform criteria that would help them clearly and unambiguously rank the leading states in terms of importance. One way or another, this very “influence” consists of very many components: from (naturally!) Financial and economic indicators, indicators of military and scientific and technical power, indexes of development and stability of civil society and the quality of life of the population to political and cultural influence on neighboring countries, etc. Of course, this also takes into account the degree of presence of states in the most significant international organizations (UN, OSCE, PACE, NATO, etc.), and their ability to dictate their rules on a global scale (or, at least, to force other countries to listen to their opinion), and the impact on the global media (including general news trends). We tried to take into account at least the main of these criteria. We present to you the resulting top ten most influential countries in the world.
10 Brazil
The largest country in Latin America (both in terms of area and population), Brazil has a huge potential for economic growth. Among other things, this state has a fairly long democratic tradition – since 1889 it has officially been a republic with a bicameral parliament, and ratified its first constitution in 1824 (!) Year. Naturally, Brazil has a huge influence on the entire South American continent. In addition, she is a member of such leading international organizations as the UN, G20, WTO, the Union of South American Nations, etc. (where her voice is carefully listened to), and is also a member of BRICS, one of the most influential economic unions in the modern world.
9. India
A very densely populated country (the second most populous in the world after China), is usually located, as it were, “on the periphery” of attention, quite rarely getting into the top world news. And yet, without India, the world could be very different: firstly, today it is the fastest growing economy on the planet with the most promising potential for the future (although after the recent monetary reform and the subsequent financial crisis, the country experienced a real economic ” knockout”, but I think she will still be able to maintain a leading position); secondly, it is still one of the nuclear powers, and it constantly modernizes its nuclear weapons (as well as conventional ones – tanks, aircraft, fleet, etc.); thirdly, Indian high-tech specialists are in great demand all over the world. By the way, are you aware that a camel regiment is still serving on the Indian border with Pakistan?
8. Israel
A small state with a population of 8,5 million people, surrounded on all sides by Arab (and often very unfriendly) countries, nevertheless, has a huge impact on world politics – remember, for example, the powerful Jewish lobby in the US Senate. Israel boasts a strong economy, a very high level of education and the quality of life of the population. The average per capita income of its citizens gives rise to envy to the inhabitants of even many European countries. The Israeli army occupies the eighth position in the world in terms of numbers (168 thousand people + 408 thousand in reserve), and in terms of combat effectiveness, perhaps, it can claim a place in the top five. In addition, the country (albeit unofficially) owns 80 nuclear warheads. Israel receives its main income from the development of various high-tech equipment, the production of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, tourism and the diamond trade.
7. Japan
The relatively small territory of the island nation accommodates 127 million inhabitants (this is one of the highest population densities in the world). Until recently, the Japanese economy was ranked 2nd in the world, but due to growing competition (as well as the devastating tsunami of 2011 and the Fukushima story), now it most often does not rise above 5th position. Nevertheless, the country still remains one of the generally recognized leaders in the creation and development of new technologies, in the production of cars and steel, in terms of the degree of currency stability, etc. By the way, Japan ranks 6th in the world in terms of spending on the army and weapons, but at the same time, its constitution limits the growth of the armed forces and their participation in military operations outside Japanese territories. As far as Japan’s cultural impact on the world, just go online and you’ll find a wide variety of manga, anime and (God forgive me!) hentai (as well as their fan clubs, cosplay photo shoots of Japanese girls and much more).
6. France
France, of course, is no longer the same as in the colonial era, or even in the time of Charles de Gaulle, but, nevertheless, it is a powerful European power, the second most influential in the EU (after Germany), one of the five founding countries called the “nuclear club” (the French managed to successfully “cling” to the winners in the Second World War!), one of the leading arms exporters in the world, etc. France has the right to veto in the UN Security Council, has a large and quite combat-ready army and navy (for which, by the way, it produces weapons itself), still has a huge influence on many African countries recently in the form of a powerful stream of new – most often, very swarthy – “French”, some of which, shouting “Allah Akbar!” from time to time try to blow something up). Its military is constantly taking part in peacekeeping missions in different countries of the world. The cultural influence of France on the rest of the world needs no proof – remember at least 3 phrases: French fashion, French cinema and French wine.
5. Germany
The largest European country in terms of population (after the unification of the GDR and the FRG in 1990) is the economic center of the continent and the most influential state of the European Union. The German economy is consistently ranked third in the world. Germany has a powerful army (although, according to some data leaking to the media, things have not been as good in the country’s armed forces lately as its leadership would like). Germany is a member of all major international organizations (UN, NATO, G20, OECD, etc.) and is one of the most respected arbitrators on the world stage. By the way, Germany is one of the most popular countries for emigration, thanks to the high quality of life of the population and a very loyal social policy for new citizens. And if it weren’t for the two world wars (which, frankly, were Germany and unleashed, with the complicity or demonstrative “I don’t see anything” of other world powers), then it’s still unknown which state would now be in “position No. 1” in the world . It is quite possible to imagine in this role just Germany, and the United States – only the leading country in the Western Hemisphere of the planet.
4. United Kingdom
In the old days, the sun never set over the vast British Empire – the “mistress of the seas”. The current state of Great Britain is much more modest in size, and now it (oh, and thank God!) has lost its former ability to impose its inflexible will on other countries at all costs (not by persuasion, but by military force). And yet, both the political and cultural influence of Britain in the world is still very large and undeniable. True, recently it has been slightly “shaken” by political and economic “turbulence” – all because of the referendum in which the citizens of the country suddenly took and voted for leaving the European Union (the so-called Brexit), despite the fact that they are very actively dissuaded from this step. And yet Britain is a nuclear power, a member of the UN Security Council, a member of NATO, WTO, G20 and G7, etc., etc. It does not have a very powerful army, but it does have the 5th largest navy in the world. You can talk about the cultural influence of this country on the rest of the world for hours: science, music, cinema, the media, even the English language itself are the most direct agents of such “soft power”.
3. China
One of the oldest civilizations, which has long had a huge impact on all its neighbors, today has the second largest economy in the world (according to experts, it will firmly take the 2050st position by 1) and is rightfully considered a great power. The population of the country is growing at an accelerated pace (today it is already 1,4 billion people), while its well-being is increasing every year. The “Chinese economic miracle” was not yet admired only by the lazy. Western experts are especially surprised by the fact that the PRC is a socialist country with a planned economy, still successfully controlled by the Communist Party of China. The country has a military force of nearly 2,2 million (plus over 500 more in reserve) and spends more than $215 billion annually on defense. The PRC is a nuclear power (has approximately 270 warheads), which has recently been actively exploring outer space, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a member of the WTO, APEC, BRICS, etc. This is one of the few states that “has the audacity” not only to ignore the opinion of the United States, but even to put them in their place rather harshly.
2. Russia
Despite the fact that the world’s leading media have been repeating every day for almost 20 years, like a mantra, that Russia is a wild country, and its army, they say, is in decline, and there is a demographic crisis, and “the economy is torn to shreds” (how confidently said the “darkest” US president), our “Western partners” for some reason continue to seriously fear that we will suddenly take it and attack – we will capture the Baltic states, “enslave” Poland, invade Norway (who else would explain why do we need it?) It’s just that, despite all the attempts of Western politicians and journalists to explain to their population that “everything is bad in Russia, really bad, this is the real Mordor”, from time to time our country brings the whole world into a stupor with regular news: it turns out that we suddenly the army was modernized (and to such an extent that the brave warriors from the United States for some reason stopped boasting that they could, if desired, capture the Russian Federation in a week, maximum); then an unprecedented weapon was discovered that could completely wipe out all the major cities of the enemy from the world map in a couple of minutes (yes, by the way, our “Perimeter”, also known as the “Dead Hand”, is often remembered in the West recently – a system for automatically controlling the response nuclear strike in case of sudden aggression against the Russian Federation); then Eurovision, the Olympics, the World Cup held in our country are recognized as the best in history (oops!); then the economic sanctions carefully imposed by the “Western partners” somehow do not work well … And in general, almost anything in the world is wrong – Russia is to blame (yeah, wild, impoverished, freezing Russia with technologies from the time of Tsar Pea, who only knows how to download and sell oil and gas). At the same time, for some reason, only we (except the Chinese) are able to tell the Americans right in the face that they are boors, and in general have beguiled the coast, and stick their nose where they shouldn’t. And actually, Russia is a member of the UN Security Council, APEC, EAEU, WTO, Council of Europe, BRICS, etc.
1. USA
Here one could simply write “No comment” (well, who in our world and in our time has not heard about the USA?). But still, some information: despite the fact that the “Land of Light Elves” has somehow lost its ostentatious brilliance and attractiveness recently, it is still the most powerful country on the planet. Its economy and politics affect even the most remote corners of the world, its military bases are EVERYWHERE (now there are almost 750), the US has the largest military budget (over $ 700 billion), they can invade anywhere and bomb anyone (to the timid mumbling of timid objections by the “world community”). Hollywood movies, HBO, Netflix and CBS series, American fast food, so-called “human values”, etc. shape popular culture around the world. The United States “rules” NATO, the UN, the WTO and many other international organizations, without the slightest hesitation “bending” them for itself when necessary. At the moment, this country really rules the world. But for how long?