during the cold war it was a competition between the Soviet Union and the united states
and currently it is the united states
in the future japan could be the most powerful economically
china the most powerful military wise
as America is getting weaker than it once was (in massive amounts of debt, low education standars, terrible healthcare system ect)
As of 2010, the country that is most dominant culturally, militarily, and economically is the United States of America.
The cultural influence of America eclipses that even of ancient Rome, in that virtually all countries import or imitate significant American cultural aspects, from forms of government, to institutional design, to economic planning, to (perhaps the best known) media. Incorporation of American English into local languages also far eclipses any other language's influence. Perhaps the biggest indicator of the pervasive cultural influence of America is the very vocal and (in many places) organized resistance to American culture, the stridency of which is generally proportional to the amount of influence.
Militarily, the conventional forces of the United States far outweigh those of any other current nation. The combination of size, funding, technically advanced equipment, and institutional design have provided the US with a conventional armed force more dominant that perhaps any other since at least the Mongol Empire. However, this dominance is significantly degraded by the increasing proliferation of nuclear (and other mass-destruction) weaponry, and even by the movement away from conventional warfare to asymmetric and nontraditional warfare (guerrilla and cyber/economic warfare).
Economically, the United States still is the largest world economy, and possesses a top-10 per-capita income. It retains two of the top-5 financial centers of the world, and is both the largest importer and exporter of goods and services in the world. However, this dominance has significantly declined over the past 20 years; due to both domestic problems, and world-wide growth and re-alignment, the United States will likely very soon lose its status as the dominant economy. However, the likelihood is that no country will gain dominance as the US falls - instead, global trading blocks and associations look to be the dominant economic forces, rather than single nations.
China has an increasingly modernizing military and it currently stands as the largest military in the world; having over 2.8 million active personnel. Larger by any equation however does not mean better.
According to the IISS the US Military has an active personnel of 1.5 million. It also has a much more modernized military in comparison to its counterparts in Asia and Europe. Its navy has the only super-carriers on Earth and its navy is by far the largest on Earth. Its fleet tonnage is larger than the next 13 countries navies in the world and arguably it has the latest in technology installed on these ships. With this comes the power projection the US has which enables the U.S. to attack any country it wants with the overall size of its fleet.
Though Russia ranks top when it comes to nuclear weapons though again arguably most Russian made nuclear missiles are outdated. - While U.S. nuclear missiles are updated all the time with the latest (ICBM) being the Trident III. Bot h countries have the capability of wiping out the entirety of Earth two times over.
Though by military power and projection. The U.S. has no other country in the way which equals it.
The following is a list the 39 most powerful countries in the world: Not Accurate
Based on gross domestic product.
1: People's Republic of China
2: Russian Federation
3: France
5: Germany
6: India
7: Brazil
8: Japan
9: Turkey
10: South Korea
11: Italy
12: Indonesia
13: Pakistan
14: Republic of China (Taiwan)
15: Egypt
16: Mexico
17: North Korea
18: Sweden
19: Greece
20: Canada
21: Saudi Arabia
22: Ukraine
23: Australia
24: Spain
25: Thailand
26: Denmark
27: Poland
28: Philippines
29: South Africa
30: Argentina
31: Syria
32: Norway
33: Georgia
34: Iraq
35: Venezuela
36: Libya
37: Afghanistan
38: Nepal
39: Lebanon
well that dopends because China has the most people but America has the better technology.
The U.S. is probably the most influential country at the moment.
USA and China. Powerful can be defined in economic , political or military terms or combinations of these three dimensions.
germany
JIBBERISH
Britain was most powerful due to its naval superiority and industrial advances.
He was determined to make Germany the most powerful country in the world, by taking over and ruling other countries, as an addition to Germany.
Brain(pakistan)
There were two countries which were considered to be the most powerful in the world in 1968. These countries included the Soviet Union and the United States.
germany
Great Britain
The G20 are the twenty most ecocnomically influential/powerful countries in the world
probably Queen Elizabeth II, she may even be the most powerful individual, she is head of state of 16 countries, and head of the commonwealth which contains 54 countries
Although Germany, Britain, and China are powerful countries, the US is undoubtably the most powerfuly.
United Kingdom who owned 22% of the world.
The Cold War
There are a few countries that have very powerful powers in the government. The United States is one of the most powerful governments in the world. China also has a powerful government.
probably Queen Elizabeth II, she may even be the most powerful individual, she is head of state of 16 countries, and head of the commonwealth which contains 54 countries
I don't know. the trade is very high though, because it is one of the most powerful and famous countries in the world. I don't know. the trade is very high though, because it is one of the most powerful and famous countries in the world.
The rich and powerful have always run Canada, and most other countries in the world as well.