India not featured in top 10 powerful countries list reported by Forbes

As the United States, followed by China, led the list of most powerful countries group reported by Forbes, India’s absence in the top 10 despite being the most populous country, fastest growing economy of the world, and the country with the fourth largest military in the world, was a controversial take.

The research, reported by Forbes, was led by David Reibstein of the University of Pennsylvania in association with US News & World Report.

According to the US News website, “The world’s most powerful countries are the ones that consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape global economic patterns.”

“Their foreign policies and military budgets are tracked religiously. When they make a pledge, at least some in the international community trust – or fear – they will keep it. These countries project their influence on the world stage,” it added.

The deciding factors for the list were –

• A leader,
• Economical influence,
• Political influence,
• Strong international alliances, and
• A strong military

With India not featuring in the top 10 with these parameters, the eyebrows were bound to rise.

Based on these factors, the top 10 powerful countries in the world were listed as–

1. United States
2. China
3. Russia
4. United Kingdom
5. Germany
6. South Korea
7. France
8. Japan
9. Saudi Arabia
10. Israel

Following these were the United Arab Emirates in 11th place and India in 12th, with GDP Per Capita (PPP) of $10,176, a GDP of $3.55 trillion, a population of 1,428,627,663 and an area of 3,287,263 sq. km.