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A report detailing the military strength of 136 countries for the year 2018 has ranked Ghana in 107th place.

The report titled, Global Firepower's 2018 Military Strength Ranking utilizes more than 55 factors to determine a given nation's score.

According to data from Global FirePower (GFP), Ghana's total population of 27,499,924 has 13,500 active personnel and a total aircraft strength of 24 (comprising 14 helicopters) and it operates a defence budget of $120 million.

The West African country was also found to have a total of 20 naval assets including 11 patrol vessels.

It will be recalled that a similar report by the GFP on the world's largest armies in July 2018 ranked Ghana 108th out of 136 countries

Government to equip armed forces

President Akufo-Addo after reviewing a graduation parade at the Ghana Military Academy last October indicated that government will equip the Ghana armed forces with state-of-the-art infrastructure.

According to him, an ultra-modern training facility would be constructed to meet the training requirements of the military.

He explained that the new facility would serve as his legacy to the military before he finishes his term in office.

He assured that the military will also be provided with the necessary resources to carry out their constitutionally mandated role of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.

African ranking

The highest ranked African country was Egypt (12th) followed by Algeria (23rd), South Africa (33rd), Nigeria (43rd) and Angola (48th).

Ghana also lagged behind Ethiopia (51st), Morocco (55th), Sudan (70th), Libya (74th), Tunisia (77th), Zimbabwe (81st), Zambia (83rd), Kenya (85th), Uganda (93rd), Tanzania (98th) and Botswana (103rd).

The ranking focuses on the diversity of weapons in a country's arsenal rather than the total number of weapons available.

The ranking also takes into account available manpower, geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of localindustry.

It did not penalise land-locked nations for lacking a standing navy; however, naval powers were penalised for a lack of diversity in available assets.

The ranking also considered a nation's financial stability/health while NATO allies received bonus points for the sharing of war-making resources.

Current political/military leadership was not taken into account.

World Ranking

The GFP ranked the United States as the strongest army in the world, followed by Russia, China, India and France respectively.

1. United States

Power Index rating: 0.0818 (NATO member)

Total population: 326,625,791

Total military personnel: 2,083,100

Total aircraft: 13,362

Fighter aircraft: 1,962

Combat tanks: 5,884

Total naval assets: 415 (20 aircraft carriers)

Defense budget: $647 billion

2. Russia

Power Index rating: 0.0841

Total population: 142,257,519

Total military personnel: 3,586,128

Total aircraft strength: 3,914

Fighter aircraft: 818

Combat tanks: 20,300

Total naval assets: 352 (one aircraft carrier out of service indefinitely)

Defense budget: $47 billion

3. China

Power Index rating: 0.0852

Total population: 1,379,302,771

Total military personnel: 2,693,000

Total aircraft strength: 3,035

Fighter aircraft: 1,125

Combat tanks: 7,716

Total naval assets: 714 (one aircraft carrier)

Defense budget: $151 billion

4. India

Power Index rating: 0.1417

Total population: 1,281,935,911

Total military personnel: 4,207,250

Total aircraft strength: 2,185

Fighter aircraft: 590

Combat tanks: 4,426

Total naval assets: 295 (one aircraft carrier)

Defense budget: $47 billion

5. France

Power Index rating: 0.1869 (NATO member)

Total population: 67,106,161

Total military personnel: 388,635

Total aircraft strength: 1,262

Fighter aircraft 299

Combat tanks: 406

Total naval assets: 118 (four aircraft carriers)

Defense budget: $40 billion

The top ten nations was completed by the United Kingdom (6th), South Korea (7th), Japan (8th), Turkey (9th) and Germany (10th).