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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

The Turkish Armed Forced ranked first as the most powerful army in the Middle East in the Global firepower 2024 list.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Türkiye, Egypt and Iran have the three strongest militaries across the Middle East and North Africa region, according to Global Fire Power's 2023 Military Strength Rankings announced this week.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Türkiye has climbed two places in the global rankings, witnessing an increase in citizens available for military service, and a total military personnel of 755,000.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Under the rule of president Abd el-Fattah al-Sisi Egypt has kept military spending going - with sympathetic figures occupying key roles across the economy to ensure army funding is maintained.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Iran is still ranked well above regional rivals Saudi Arabia.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

The three countries all rank above Israel.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

According to the index, Israel stayed in 18th place globally, having flatlined in military spending and eligible servicemen and women - despite still maintaining strict military service.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Global Fire Power uses over 60 factors to calculate the 'power index' of any given country - taking in conventional metrics of military capacity, as well as the technological advancements of smaller nations.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

In North Africa, Algeria remains in the ascendancy over its regional competitors, standing 26th in the world.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Years of war have depleted the military resources, economies and available military spending of former regional powerhouses, including Libya and Syria.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

Weakest of all countries in the MENA region is Lebanon - sandwiched between Mali and Mozambique in 111th place - with a depleted economy that has precious little to spend on new military hardware and training.

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast

The full Middle East rankings published in the index is as follows:

Türkiye
Egypt
Iran
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Algeria
Iraq
UAE
Morocco
Syria
Qatar
Tunisia
Yemen
Sudan
Oman
Kuwait
Bahrain
Libya
Jordan
Lebanon

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Turkish Armed Forces ranked first in list of the most powerful armies in Mideast