The Polish army is now 20th in the world, according to the June release of the military statistics website Global Firepower ranking, which evaluates the military potential of 145 countries.
Directly ahead of Poland in the ranking are Vietnam, Israel and Iran. Meanwhile, Poland surpasses Spain, Germany and Canada. The United States is ranked first, and surprisingly, given recent events, Russia is second.
Compared to the beginning of 2022, Poland has moved up four places. Factors contributing to the improvement include Poland’s acquisition of equipment and the modernization of its army, which was accelerated following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The authors of the ranking gave our army high marks for the quality and quantity of its air force, transport and artillery. However, assault aviation capabilities and navy were rated very low. Global Firepower also critically assessed the level of military reserves, an essential element for sustained defense.
It’s significant to note that over the last eight years, defense spending in Poland has increased by approximately 160 percent. From a level of 40 billion zloty (EUR 9 billion), Poland’s annual defense spending has reached 100 billion zloty (EUR 22.4 billion). Currently, the Polish government allocates at least 3% of GDP to defense.
Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński also announced that the Polish military plans on having 300,000 soldiers, while currently, it is estimated to have 170,000 troops.
