Markets

Insider Trading

Hedge Funds

Retirement

Opinion

13 Countries With The Most Overseas Military Bases

In this article, we look at the 13 countries with the most overseas military bases. You can skip our detailed analysis on the strategic significance of these bases and the logistical advantage they provide to certain nations by heading over directly to the 5 Countries With The Most Overseas Military Bases.

Several major global powers maintain military presence and foothold in different regions of the world through their overseas bases, which help in providing them a logistical edge over their foes. These military bases are often equipped with modern weapons and military equipment and allow countries to strike enemy targets anywhere in the world.

The United States, for instance, has more than 750 military bases across 80 countries, and has deployed nearly 175,000 soldiers in 159 countries of the world, which provides them a key edge over foes and the capability to remain within striking distance if a conflict was to break out. These military bases are a key factor that contribute to America’s global hegemony and enable Washington to counter threats emanating from countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

US Overseas Military Bases

While an exact count is not known, the Americans operate numerous military bases in the Middle East that deploy more than 30,000 troops. The Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, located west of Doha, is the largest US military installation in the region, and has been critical for American operations in the Middle East, and previously Afghanistan. The base houses nearly a third of all American troops stationed in the Middle East, and is equipped with modern weapons and fighter jets. In 2020, the US Air Force deployed five F-22 fighters developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) to the Al-Udeid Air Base.

The base is also used by the US to help the host country and strategic ally, Qatar, in bolstering its defense. A $78 million contract was awarded to RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) in 2020 to upgrade Qatar’s Air Operations Center. During the same year, a $657 million deal was signed by the US with The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) to provide logistics and sparing support to Qatar’s F-15 fighter jets. The execution of work of both contracts are being carried out at this airbase.

The Americans also maintain a significant military presence in East Asia. US troops have been stationed in Japan since the end of World War II in 1945, and have been in South Korea since the Korean War in 1950. These two countries alone host more than half of all American soldiers stationed overseas. Camp Humphreys near Seoul is the largest overseas military base of the United States. The base is equipped with Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system to protect South Korea from regular missile threats issued by North Korea. This month at Camp Humphreys, Seoul successfully test-fired RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX)’s ship-to-air missile for the first time on its territory, as part of a symbolic show of strength to Pyongyang. 

Europe hosts eight US Army Garrisons where more than 60,000 American troops are deployed. The Ramstein Air Base in Germany is the most notable overseas military base operated by Washington, and is critical to the US Air Force’s European operations. In 2021, the US Air Force deployed The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s E-8C JSTARS to the base to take part in trainings with other Europe-based units. Last year, NATO announced that America was sending a fleet of its F-35 fighter jets as well to the Ramstein Air Base to support NATO’s Air Policing operations over member nations.

Russia’s Superpower Ambitions

Russia’s military ambitions over the last decade have ensured that the country still wants to compete with the United States and play a global role. Moscow has actively worked to further enhance its influence in former Soviet territories, and has been on the lookout for openings in Asia and Africa to increase its military potential. 

Russia already operates numerous bases in Central and West Asia, and is now looking to make inroads in Africa, a region where it is among the top arms suppliers. This year Moscow and Khartoum reached an agreement to establish a logistic center for the Russian Navy in Sudan. This has been followed by the Central African Republic (CAR) expressing interest in having the Russians build a military base on its territory that is large enough to host 10,000-15,000 soldiers.

Joseph M. Arseneau/Shutterstock.com

Methodology

Countries with the most overseas military bases are listed in ascending order of the number of their foreign military installations. Since most countries do not make complete or any information public related to their military bases, we have sourced data from numerous independent and credible news agencies and publications, including Brookings, Small Wars Journal, BBC, and local media groups in countries these installations are located in. In the case where countries had the same number of overseas military bases, we outranked one over the other on the basis of their strategic importance.

If interested, you can also take a look at the 15 Most Important U.S. Military Bases in the World.

Let’s now head over the list of countries that have the most overseas military bases.

13. Japan

Overseas Military Bases: 1

Japan has a military base in Djibouti. The need for the installation developed after a spike in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, which faces the Bab el-Mandeb Strait through which much of the world’s oil flows. Following 2008, the UN General Assembly passed multiple resolutions for member states to work together on deterring piracy, after which a number of countries, including Japan, established military bases in the region. The base proved critical for the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Israel following Hamas’ attack this October. SDF’s three KC-767 planes built by The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) flew to Djibouti to take part in the airlifting operation.

12. Italy

Overseas Military Bases: 1

Djibouti also hosts Italy’s only military bases outside its national borders. It houses approximately 300 Italian military personnel, including special forces and navy riflemen to protect merchant ships in the Indian Ocean. According to Small Wars Journal, Italian soldiers deployed in Djibouti also take part in anti-terrorism operations in Somalia and Yemen.

11. Israel

Overseas Military Bases: 1

According to a 2012 report by Stratfor Global Intelligence, an American strategic consultancy firm, Israel maintains a military base in Eritrea to monitor Iran’s activities in the region and intelligence gathering in the Red Sea. The base is located in the Dahlak archipelago of Eritrea. 

10. China

Overseas Military Bases: 1

China currently has only one overseas military base, located on the coast of the Horn of Africa in Djibouti. The base is located within a few miles of America’s Camp Lemonnier, and provides China access to the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. According to defense analysts, Beijing plans on expanding its military presence in Asia and Africa over the next five to ten years. Gwadar in Pakistan, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, and Equatorial Guinea’s Bata are likely locations for China’s next naval bases.

9. Australia

Overseas Military Bases: 2

The Al Minhad Air Base located 15 miles south of Dubai, UAE, serves as the headquarters for the Joint Task Force 633 of Australia’s Defense Forces, and helps support Australia’s operations in the Middle East. The country’s other overseas military base is in Penang, Malaysia, called the RMAF Butterworth Air Base. While it is actively used by the Malaysian Air Force, the command authority rests with an Australian air-vice marshal under the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). Australia deployed its 75 Squadron of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s F-35A Lightning II aircrafts to Butterworth last year.

8. United Arab Emirates

Overseas Military Bases: 3

The United Arab Emirates operates three overseas military bases in Libya, Somaliland, and Yemen. While Somaliland’s MPs allowed the UAE to set up a military base in the port of Berbera, its bases in the other two regions have not been short of controversy and have received criticism from the central governments of these countries. Since 2018, the Yemeni island of Socotra has been under the de facto control of the UAE under the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, a participant of the civil war in Yemen. The Emiratis operate a military base in Socotra, with hundreds of troops stationed there. UAE also maintains a remote airbase in conflict-ridden Libya, near the airport in Marj.

7. India

Overseas Military Bases: 3

India has been expanding its sphere of influence in the region in a bid to counter China’s presence in the Indian Ocean. According to Indian media group, WION, the country’s navy has built a support base in Oman’s Duqm Port for repair and maintenance of Indian ships. In October this year, India’s newly constructed military base in Mauritius, which includes an airstrip, was declared ready for deployment. The country also maintains a military presence in Central Asia, where it has been operating the Ayni airbase in Dushanbe for the last two decades along with host-nation Tajikistan.

6. Türkiye

Overseas Military Bases: 3

According to the Center for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS), Ankara operates three overseas military bases. Its first foreign installation was established in 1974 in Northern Cyprus, and houses between 30-40 thousand Turkish troops. Türkiye considers this base essential for securing the “Anatolian Homeland”. In 2015, the country set up its first military base in the Middle East in Qatar to enhance the host country’s defense capabilities. Türkiye’s first base in Africa became operational in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2017, and aims at capacity-building of the Somali armed forces. President Erdogan’s government has been an active player in the ongoing turmoil in the MENA region, and has built nearly ‘40 military points’ in Iraq’s Kurdistan region as well.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Countries With The Most Overseas Military Bases.

Suggested Articles:

Disclosure: None. 13 Countries With The Most Overseas Military Bases is originally published on Insider Monkey.

AI, Tariffs, Nuclear Power: One Undervalued Stock Connects ALL the Dots (Before It Explodes!)

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal!

AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous.

Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink.

Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and building the digital future. But there’s one urgent question few are asking:

Where will all of that energy come from?

AI is the most electricity-hungry technology ever invented. Each data center powering large language models like ChatGPT consumes as much energy as a small city. And it’s about to get worse.

Even Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, issued a stark warning:

“The future of AI depends on an energy breakthrough.”

Elon Musk was even more blunt:

“AI will run out of electricity by next year.”

As the world chases faster, smarter machines, a hidden crisis is emerging behind the scenes. Power grids are strained. Electricity prices are rising. Utilities are scrambling to expand capacity.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies…

One little-known company—almost entirely overlooked by most AI investors—could be the ultimate backdoor play. It’s not a chipmaker. It’s not a cloud platform. But it might be the most important AI stock in the US owns critical energy infrastructure assets positioned to feed the coming AI energy spike.

As demand from AI data centers explodes, this company is gearing up to profit from the most valuable commodity in the digital age: electricity.

The “Toll Booth” Operator of the AI Energy Boom

  • It owns critical nuclear energy infrastructure assets, positioning it at the heart of America’s next-generation power strategy.
  • It’s one of the only global companies capable of executing large-scale, complex EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects across oil, gas, renewable fuels, and industrial infrastructure.
  • It plays a pivotal role in U.S. LNG exportation—a sector about to explode under President Trump’s renewed “America First” energy doctrine.

Trump has made it clear: Europe and U.S. allies must buy American LNG.

And our company sits in the toll booth—collecting fees on every drop exported.

But that’s not all…

As Trump’s proposed tariffs push American manufacturers to bring their operations back home, this company will be first in line to rebuild, retrofit, and reengineer those facilities.

AI. Energy. Tariffs. Onshoring. This One Company Ties It All Together.

While the world is distracted by flashy AI tickers, a few smart investors are quietly scooping up shares of the one company powering it all from behind the scenes.

AI needs energy. Energy needs infrastructure.

And infrastructure needs a builder with experience, scale, and execution.

This company has its finger in every pie—and Wall Street is just starting to notice.

Wall Street is noticing this company also because it is quietly riding all of these tailwinds—without the sky-high valuation.

While most energy and utility firms are buried under mountains of debt and coughing up hefty interest payments just to appease bondholders…

This company is completely debt-free.

In fact, it’s sitting on a war chest of cash—equal to nearly one-third of its entire market cap.

It also owns a huge equity stake in another red-hot AI play, giving investors indirect exposure to multiple AI growth engines without paying a premium.

And here’s what the smart money has started whispering…

The Hedge Fund Secret That’s Starting to Leak Out

This stock is so off-the-radar, so absurdly undervalued, that some of the most secretive hedge fund managers in the world have begun pitching it at closed-door investment summits.

They’re sharing it quietly, away from the cameras, to rooms full of ultra-wealthy clients.

Why? Because excluding cash and investments, this company is trading at less than 7 times earnings.

And that’s for a business tied to:

  • The AI infrastructure supercycle
  • The onshoring boom driven by Trump-era tariffs
  • A surge in U.S. LNG exports
  • And a unique footprint in nuclear energy—the future of clean, reliable power

You simply won’t find another AI and energy stock this cheap… with this much upside.

This isn’t a hype stock. It’s not riding on hope.

It’s delivering real cash flows, owns critical infrastructure, and holds stakes in other major growth stories.

This is your chance to get in before the rockets take off!

Disruption is the New Name of the Game: Let’s face it, complacency breeds stagnation.

AI is the ultimate disruptor, and it’s shaking the foundations of traditional industries.

The companies that embrace AI will thrive, while the dinosaurs clinging to outdated methods will be left in the dust.

As an investor, you want to be on the side of the winners, and AI is the winning ticket.

The Talent Pool is Overflowing: The world’s brightest minds are flocking to AI.

From computer scientists to mathematicians, the next generation of innovators is pouring its energy into this field.

This influx of talent guarantees a constant stream of groundbreaking ideas and rapid advancements.

By investing in AI, you’re essentially backing the future.

The future is powered by artificial intelligence, and the time to invest is NOW.

Don’t be a spectator in this technological revolution.

Dive into the AI gold rush and watch your portfolio soar alongside the brightest minds of our generation.

This isn’t just about making money – it’s about being part of the future.

So, buckle up and get ready for the ride of your investment life!

Act Now and Unlock a Potential 100+% Return within 12 to 24 months.

We’re now offering month-to-month subscriptions with no commitments.

For a ridiculously low price of just $9.99 per month, you can unlock our in-depth investment research and exclusive insights – that’s less than a single fast food meal!

Space is Limited! Only 1000 spots are available for this exclusive offer. Don’t let this chance slip away – subscribe to our Premium Readership Newsletter today and unlock the potential for a life-changing investment.

Here’s what to do next:

1. Head over to our website and subscribe to our Premium Readership Newsletter for just $9.99.

2. Enjoy a month of ad-free browsing, exclusive access to our in-depth report on the Trump tariff and nuclear energy company as well as the revolutionary AI-robotics company, and the upcoming issues of our Premium Readership Newsletter.

3. Sit back, relax, and know that you’re backed by our ironclad 30-day money-back guarantee.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! Subscribe now and take control of your AI investment future!


No worries about auto-renewals! Our 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies whether you’re joining us for the first time or renewing your subscription a month later!

A New Dawn is Coming to U.S. Stocks

I work for one of the largest independent financial publishers in the world – representing over 1 million people in 148 countries.

We’re independently funding today’s broadcast to address something on the mind of every investor in America right now…

Should I put my money in Artificial Intelligence?

Here to answer that for us… and give away his No. 1 free AI recommendation… is 50-year Wall Street titan, Marc Chaikin.

Marc’s been a trader, stockbroker, and analyst. He was the head of the options department at a major brokerage firm and is a sought-after expert for CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and Yahoo! Finance…

But what Marc’s most known for is his award-winning stock-rating system. Which determines whether a stock could shoot sky-high in the next three to six months… or come crashing down.

That’s why Marc’s work appears in every Bloomberg and Reuters terminal on the planet…

And is still used by hundreds of banks, hedge funds, and brokerages to track the billions of dollars flowing in and out of stocks each day.

He’s used this system to survive nine bear markets… create three new indices for the Nasdaq… and even predict the brutal bear market of 2022, 90 days in advance.

Click to continue reading…