Kazakhstan tops military strength rating in Central Asia

Global Firepower, the prominent defense rating agency reviewing military power by countries, has ranked Kazakhstan 57th in its most recent annual military strength ranking. In 2025, Kazakhstan has moved up one spot, overtaking all the neighboring states in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan has achieved a PowerIndex score of 1.1016, whereas a 0.0000 score is considered «perfect.» The agency also provided a breakdown of key military aspects, ranking the country 14th in terms of the number of multiple launch rocket systems and 29th in terms of self-propelled artillery units. Other Central Asian countries — Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — were ranked 58th, 77th, 105th and 108th, respectively.

Last year, Kazakhstan was ranked 58th compared to 63rd place in 2023, 64th in 2022 and 62nd in 2021, falling behind Uzbekistan and Belarus. The United States consistently holds the top position, followed by Russia in second place, while China, India and South Korea occupy the next spots. The top 10 also include Turkey, Japan and France. The Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan ranks last in the rating.

Global Firepower assesses the military potential of 145 nations. The rating is based on 60 various factors, including the quantity of military units, financial standing, logistical capabilities and geography. Therefore, the agency considers not only resources but also levels of technological development.

The ranking is updated annually to reflect nations’ military potential. Even though color indicators — green, gray and red — reflect key changes, they do not always point to weakening positions, as the calculating formula of the ranking might also change.