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These are the most powerful and influential countries ranked, only the top 6 are International Powers but their are about 20 Regional Powers which matter in world politics and economics
1. United States - world' largest economy - 17,416,253 GDP in millions of US $, worldwide influence and 3rd largest population - 320,000,000, also has the world's strongest military, cultural influence and Language Influence, permanent UN security council member, the USA will hold this position for the foreseeable future, however immigration will start to pose challenges for the USA, the American southwest will become majority Mexican American in this century, Hispanics will become the largest racial group in the USA and most of these will be Mexicans who will start to feel alienated by the USA and will feel a closer connection to an emerging Mexico, this will pose internal problems for the USA and a conflict with Mexico
2. China - 2nd largest economy in the world - 9,240,270 in Millions of US $, regional influence and world's largest population - 1,370,000,000, 3rd strongest military in the world, permanent UN security council member, China will always be an international power but never on the scale of the USA, china will start to loose millions of people as it's population starts to decline, the Chinese economic boom will burst in the 2020s and it's economy will start to decline, hundreds of millions still live in poverty and development is limited in the interior, Chinese provinces will keep getting more and more autonomous as the years pass, the communist party will eventually loose control and this can pose internal conflicts, china's future is uncertain and it has the potential to fragment and collapse
3. Russia - Largest country in the world by land area, 2nd strongest military in the world, 8th Largest Economy - 2,113,000 in Millions of US $, Regional Influence, especially In Post Soviet States including cultural influence and the large Russian Diaspora, Decent sized population - 146,000,000 - permanent UN security council member, the Russian Population has stabilized and the economy is growing, it's military is re-asserting it's strength, but the country has huge inequality and a lack of infrastructure, it remains to be seen if Russia will continue to prosper until it has the largest economy in Europe or if it will fall due to sanctions and internal conflicts, the Russian Economy is also reliant on Oil which will one day be replaced by alternative energy sources such as solar energy, Russia has an uncertain future and the potential to fragment and collapse
4. Germany - De Facto head of European Union, lots of regional influence in Europe. 4th Largest economy in the world - 3,820,464 in Millions of US $, decent sized population - 81,000,000, major military power, Germany will remain Western Europe's greatest power and will remain stable along with the other western European powers
5. France - Regional Influence in Europe and former colonies, 5th largest economy - 2,806,428 in Millions of US $, large population - 66,000,000, permanent UN security council member and major military power, France will keep loosing it's influence
6. United Kingdom - worldwide influence In former colonies, 6th Largest Economy - 2,678,455 in Millions of US $, large population - 65,000,000, strongest military in western Europe, permanent UN security council member, the UK will keep loosing it's influence
7. Japan - 3rd largest economy in the world - 5,007,000 in Millions of US $, large population - 127,000,000, however underdeveloped military power and limited regional and worldwide influence and rapidly aging and declining population and lack of resources and materials to export, Japan may look like it's never going to be a major power again but it has recently started re-arming it's military and expanding its influence, the population should also stabilize soon, when China and Russia start to decline, it will fill the void left in East Eurasia and may potentially replace China as the dominant Asian Power
8. Brazil - 7th largest economy in the world, 2,245,673 in Millions of US $, large population - 204,000,000, regional influence in Latin America, major military power, Brazil has the potential to be a world power however it's isolated position may limit this, it also has a severe problem with poverty and equality
9. India - 10th Largest economy - 1,937,797 in Millions of US $, 2nd largest population in the world which is forecast to become the largest soon - 1,270,000,000, major military power, however limited regional and international influence and hundreds of millions are illiterate and live in poverty, India has potential but it won't be fulfilled in this century
10. Italy - 8th Largest Economy - 2,149,485 in Millions of US $, major population - 61,000,000 - major military power, limited influence, Italy won't stay as a major power
11. Turkey - 18th Largest Economy - 822,135 in Million of US $, major population - 78,000,000 - major military power, strong and growing influence in the Islamic world, strongest Muslim country, ottoman history, expanding economy, Turkey in the 21st century will become a major power once again, if Russia is to decline it will fill the void it leaves behind, Turkey has great potential to become one of the world's powers
12. Canada - 11th Largest economy - 1,826,769 in Millions of US $, decent population - 36,000,000, Some Limited influence, Canada will always be overshadowed by the United States due to it's location and population, Canada won't ever be a major power and it's power will decline
13. Australia - 12th largest economy in the world - 1,560,372 in Millions of US $, relatively small population - 24,000,000, holds influence in East Asia and Oceania, Australia lacks the population to ever be a major power and it's position in t world isolates it, Australia's power will decline
14. Spain - 13th largest Economy in the world - 1,393,040 in Millions of US $, Decent Population - 46,000,000
holds influence in Latin America, however it's economic growth is slowing and it's influence is fading away, Spain's power will continue to weaken
15. Mexico - 14th Largest Economy in the World - 1,327,000 in millions o US $, Large Population - 121,000,000
Holds influence in Latin America which will continue to grow , due to it's strategic position on both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean it's economy will continue to keep growing rapidly, it will become a world power and it will one day pose a challenge to the USA, it will take years to eradicate poverty and establish good infrastructure in Mexico but it is on the rise and will become a Global Power
16. Indonesia - 16th Largest Economy in the World - 868, 346 in Millions of US $, Large Population - 255,000,000, holds influence in southeast Asia which will continue to grow, will one day replace Australia as the regional power in Oceania, it will continue to rise economically
17. South Korea - 14th Largest Economy in the World - 1,304,554 in Millions of US $, decent population - 51,000,000, it has a limited influence and will always be overshadowed by both China and Japan, it will never be a major world power or a regional power, South Korea will start to loose it's already limited power as it is overtaken economically by other nations
18. Poland - 23rd Largest Economy in the World - 552,230 in Millions of US $, decent population - 38,000,000, it holds regional influence in Central and Eastern Europe and is starting to replace the UK's influence in the European Union, it's economy will continue to grow and it's influence will rise in eastern Europe, Poland will one day be seen as the leader of Eastern Europe and will be a regional power, it has the potential to become a world power if Russia continues to decline, Poland would fill the void left by the Russian Decline in Eastern Europe and if there is further fragmentation and conflict in post soviet states such as Ukraine, there is potential for Poland to retake the Land it lost In world war 2. Although Now Poland's position may seem weak it has massive potential, especially if there is a Russian Decline, along with Turkey, Poland would fill the void left by Russia in Eastern Europe. I's strategic position also makes it the border of NATO and the western world, because of this and the ongoing crisis with Russia, the United States will strengthen Poland and support it's potential expansion
19. Saudi Arabia - 19th largest economy in the word - 748,450 in Millions of US $, decent population - 31,000,000, Holds regional influence across the Arab World, Saudi Arabia will not become a major power, it's economy is reliant on Oil which will loose value as we start to rely on newer technologies, the oil fields will one day also run dry, Saudi Arabia is also located in an unstable region and the country itself is unstable, it has an oppressive regime which rules the nation under sharia law, it will not last and the future for Saudi Arabia seems cloudy at best, it will have internal conflicts and it's economic boom will burst
20. Nigeria - 25th Largest Economy in the World - 502,000 in Millions of US $, large population - 184,000,000
Holds some regional influence in west Africa which will expand, Both It's population and economy will rapidly expand however doubts remain as to if Nigeria can become a potential African power, million still live in poverty and it suffers from ongoing internal conflicts, if it remains stable it has the potential to be a major regional power
Those are in My opinion the 20 most Important, powerful and influential countries as of 2015
1. USA
2. China
3. Germany/Russia
3. Russia/Germany
5. UK
6. France
7. Saudi Arabia
8. Japan
Actual "world rulers"
9. India/Italy/South Korea
Debatable ones
Putting EU and Brazil is laughable. EU is basically Germany+UK+France and maybe Italy. So putting it into the list doesn't make sense, is derivative.
I love Brazil, but the reality is that Brazil cannot even have strong influence on Latinamerica, much less at world scale. And now is facing GDP decline. If they do the job well, maybe could join it in the mid-term, but right now, not even close.
And let's be honest, the only reason a country like China is on these lists is because of it's massive population. It's economy is still very poor and it's military capabilities are dubious at best. Countries like Brazil belong nowhere on the list, and a country like Germany can't seriously be called a great power when they are occupied by the US and have only the most basic military capabilities. Countries like the UK and France have the ability to quickly crush armed resistance in remote places like Mali - can we really say with any certainty that a country like Brazil, Germany, or even China can do this?
Mead believes that Germany is the #2 great power in the world, but both the UK and France are not on the list? Hardly credible. It seems more like a list of the most potent economic powers of the G-7 (an economic association) than actual great powers.
The EU isn't a state, but it does have a lot of powers that are often in the hands of nation-states themselves. It also gets independent and equivalents standings in several multinational bodies as nation-states.
Let's be honest, a massive population is great and all, but the main drivers of China's economics lies in just a few provinces that are generally along the seaboard excluding the northeast provinces. Those provinces are not where the majority of China's population is, but is where much of its GDP is generated and generally have stats equivalent to very high or high human development indices. The idea that its military capabilities are dubious at best is pretty silly. War doesn't quite work the same way anymore.
The EU is not a state , if you mention it as "great power", you could as well mention the NAFTA or the Arab League or the OAS, or any regional grouping of countries.
And Saudi Arabia certainly shouldn't be on this list, put South Africa or even Indonesia or Mexico instead.
This is still your dreamworld. As much as you hope for the USSR and Warsaw Pact to conquer Europe and hoping that the European nations become communist conservative-civic nationalist dictatorships where the President rides eagles while shooting gays and hating America 100%... It won't happen. Your window was in the late 60's and early 70's. You didn't get any support. Move on. Europe has MOVED ON. Start to realise it.
The world would be a much much better place if every regional/great power was as chill as Brazil.
Agree with you on this, although Western intervention has been useful in a few occasions (still very rarely) as it prevented the rise of terrorism and dictatorships, an example is Mali, most of the time it has done nothing but ruin those countries destabilizing them further.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daywalk
I believe the 4 major categories for classifying whether a country is great power are:
Economic size
Political/Diplomatic influence
Military or firepower
Cultural influence
Almost completely agree, there are other factors but these are the most fundamental. I more or less agree with you choices, but the EU doesn't belong in there at least in my opinion, it's also quite hard to classify it in this discussion.
Putting EU and Brazil is laughable. EU is basically Germany+UK+France and maybe Italy. So putting it into the list doesn't make sense, is derivative.
Putting the EU isn't laughable. The EU is still a very close-knit community with a harmonised economical and judicidal legislation. If you can't export a product to Portugal, you can't export it to Finland either. Already that, and the immense economical and intellectual knowledge is completely unsurpassed on this planet. The EU is and economical superpower (the largest single-market economy in the world), but as we are not a state or nation, we are mediocre player politically and militarily, with all our differences. BUT, if you Argentinians say "fu*k the EU", we will reply with the same answer. All 28 of us. And don't even try to flatter some Spain or Greece or Denmark or anyone. It won't work. It will be the ban of everything Argentinian. End of story. So in that sense we are also a political superpower, though with our disagreements.
Last edited by Rozenn; 04-12-2015 at 05:46 AM..
Reason: Unnecessary
I don't agree that Germany and the European Union are two different superpowers.
India and Russia hae GDP below Italy (which is absent from the OP's list), and Saudi Arabia is barely in the top 20, behind Mexico,. Turkey and Indonesia
I find it hilarious that some actually called South Korea a world power.
No offense to the Koreans but sorry, it isn't. They have come a long way and are a very successful nation but it's a middle power at best.
China has increasing economic influence, but its military presence is still lesser than that of France and the UK. The latter two can exert their prowess in far-flung corners of the world, but China seemingly does not have the ability to do so or simply does not want to (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Germany is definitely the leading power on a regional basis, but globally it doesn't have anywhere near as much influence or clout as the UK or France. If the UK was part of the Eurozone, and stopped being so isolationist, it could easily be more dominant within Europe, and challenge Germany. The UK is capable of being a European leader when our interests coincide with the interests of other countries, and we are capable of speaking up when smaller nations can't.
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