At one point or another, we’ve all entertained the thought of what it would be like if we ruled over the entire world. I would be a benevolent, strict, but fair ruler, but I also realize that getting to the position of “ruler of the world” would likely require military force, and that just isn’t my jam. I have, however, done a little preliminary research into the military forces of countries around the world and found the top 10 nations that are most difficult to invade. Here they are (in no particular order)!
Switzerland
Switzerland has two main advantages when it comes to defense from invasion. The first is that nobody really wants to invade them. They’ve managed to go through two world wars without being invaded, plus their predominantly neutral position is a huge advantage. They would never be your ally, and if you invaded them — much of the rest of the world would jump to their defense.
The second advantage is that every man in Switzerland has basic military training after which they get to keep their guns. So, even though their current military force is small (compared to some of the other countries on this list), they could quickly mobilize a huge army.
North Korea
North Korea is the crazy kid in your area that looks kinda weak, but you never really know what they could do if you approach them the wrong way. Sure, it’s common knowledge that they have a big army (1.2 million soldiers!), but the big deal issue is that they have nuclear weapons and an extremely twitchy and impatient trigger finger. If you want to rule the world, you have to make sure there’s a world to rule, and North Korea could end the whole thing with their nuclear arsenal. It’s better to leave them alone.
Iran
Iran has over 500,000 active soldiers and military personnel. That’s one of the largest armies in the world! Not only that, but the entire country is covered in mountains and deserts, which means your options of invading by land are limited (and that’s putting it mildly). Your only point of approach would be through the air, but they’ve thought of that. It’s very unlikely that any of your planes would get close to strategic locations before they were shot down by their own air force or by one of the hundreds of land-to-air missiles at Iran’s disposal.
Japan
Japan has one of the greatest military defenses a country could possibly have — it’s an island. This means that your only points of approach would either be with the help of a navy fleet, or a strong air force. And it just so happens that Japan’s military is focused on those two particular things — defense in the air and on water. Add to this the fact that Japan’s military is consistently ranked in the top 10 highest military budgets and your chances of invading Japan are, well… minuscule at best.
The UK
The countries that make up the United Kingdom are all located on an island. So, from the very start, you are at a disadvantage because you can only approach by sea or through the air. And, of course, they’ve thought things through, so the majority of their 100k+ soldier army is proficient in exactly those kinds of combat. Plus, it certainly helps that they do their best to stay ahead of the game when it comes to military technology and espionage — they’ll know you’re coming!
Australia
With both Japan and the UK on this list, you already know what comes first! Australia is surrounded by water. Second, it’s located in the Southern Hemisphere, so no matter where your global conquest originates from, you’re definitely going to be doing a lot of fighting far from home. The cost of supplying your forces alone will likely be a huge problem. And all of this comes before we get to the real juicy bits. 98% of the country’s population lives along the coast, which obviously means that Australia has one of the best protected coastlines in the entire world. And then there’s all the spiders and venomous snakes, too.
Canada
Canada’s borders consist of three oceans and the United States. So, from the very beginning, you’ll either have to have the US as an ally, have conquered the US (lol), or figure out how to drop off your military on the coasts. And all this is already a huge point of contention before you even consider that Canada is the second largest country in the world. That’s a lot of land to conquer.
China
In China, the first thing you’d have to consider is the sheer number of people. Sure, you can conquer the government, but it will take a lot to conquer the people. Also, for the past century, China has been steadily growing its military budget and expanding its abilities when it comes to war. It’s a military superpower, with 2.3 million active military plus 2.3 million people in reserves. Its military budget is second only to the United States of America. China would be one of your biggest problems in your effort to conquer the world.
Russia
It’s the biggest country in the world. It’s also been invaded numerous times, and each time the invaders weren’t able to conquer the land. First Napoleon, then Hitler, yet neither could really make sure their armies were able to last the cold and vicious winters.
United States
Of course, the global military superpower was going to be on this list. Could you, even for a moment, imagine that they wouldn’t be? If all the Hollywood blockbusters aren’t enough to convince you that the US is crazy about their military, then consider these facts. The US has the highest military budget in the world. The United States are full of crazy gun-owning citizens, so even if you managed to overthrow the government, you’d have a lot of trouble controlling the people. The United States has military bases all over the world, so “taking care” of the country itself wouldn’t even prevent you from taking care of their entire military. And, finally, they have nearly 4,000 nuclear missiles at their disposal.
I’m sorry, but your global conquest never stood a chance.
