In this article, we look at 12 countries with the best intelligence agencies. You can skip our detailed analysis on technologies that support intelligence agencies and head over directly to the 5 Countries with Best Intelligence Agencies.
Intelligence agencies play a crucial role in this ever-evolving global security landscape to safeguard their nation’s interest. These agencies collect, analyze and disseminate information that is vital to national security, and have equipped themselves with highly effective technologies and tools to tackle the complex threats countries face in the modern-age.
The Space Based-Infrared System, or SBIRS, provides the United States capabilities in missile defense and warnings. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, both Japan and South Korea have been growing increasingly uneasy about North Korea’s intense missile programs over the last few years. Analysts believe the United States can expand the scope of intelligence sharing with its northeast Asian allies through real-time data from SBIRS about Pyongyang’s missile activities.
In August 2022, the sixth and final missile warning satellite, GEO-6, was launched by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) as part of the SBIRS program. The GEO-6 is built on Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s modernized LM 2100 Combat Bus, which offers greater resilience, improved propulsion and spacecraft power. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) has also in the past developed several spy planes, such as U-2 and A-12, for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that were capable of avoiding rival air defense systems.
On the other hand, cyberspace security has also widely begun to be considered as the fifth dimension of modern warfare. Former President Donald Trump in 2018 introduced the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to improve the US government’s protection against cyber attacks from private and rival-state hackers. As per the Department of Homeland Security, $3.06 billion have been allocated in funding to CISA for FY2024.
In 2021, CISA launched the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative with the aim ‘to unify cyber defenders from organizations worldwide’. Several tech giants are part of this program, including Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), among others, who already have a history of cooperating with American agencies on national security.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s collaboration with security agencies is not new. According to a 2013 report in The Guardian, the company granted the NSA access to encrypted messages, whereas Skype, a division of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), allowed audio and video conversations to be collected through Prism.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google in 2003 entered into a $2.1 million contract with the NSA to develop a customized search solution for them that could scan and recognize documents in as many as 24 languages. Google then went into a search contract with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to customize the CIA's internal Google search.
In 2008, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) partnered to jointly develop a visual intelligence system for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to mark out Shia and Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad during the war in Iraq. In 2010, Google signed a $27 million contract with the NGA to provide it with geospatial visualization services, according to The Guardian.
12 Countries with Best Intelligence Agencies
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Methodology
We have ranked countries with the best intelligence agencies using consensus methodology. Rankings of countries with high intelligence capabilities were considered on four sources: Foreign Policy, VOX News, Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2023, and Yahoo News. We factored in the number of times each country was mentioned on these lists for its intelligence capabilities. If a country ranked on all four of these websites, it received a score of four.
Since there often were two or more countries that had the same score, we also weighed in cybersecurity capabilities of countries and the number of military satellites they had to help in outranking one over the other. Data for these two metrics were sourced from our articles, 12 Most Advanced Countries in Cybersecurity and 15 Countries with the Highest Number of Military Satellites in Orbit. Countries are ranked in ascending order of their overall scores.
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Let’s now head over to the list of countries with the best intelligence agencies.
Top 12 countries with the best intelligence capabilities:
12. South Korea
Score: 1.48
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) is the premiere intelligence agency in South Korea. Founded in 1961, it plays a vital role in national and regional security, with a key focus on counter-terrorism, as well as cybersecurity threats emanating from North Korea. The country boasts a strong defense network due to its extensive ties with the United States. According to the Lowy Institute, it ranks sixth in terms of intelligence capabilities in Asia. In 2016, however, the South Korean government decided to curb the powers of the NIS when it came to investigating suspects with ties to North Korea, and transferred that duty onto the national police.
11. Japan
Score: 1.49
Japan is considered among countries having the best intelligence capabilities. There are five core intelligence agencies in Japan, with the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) being the most elite agency, equivalent to the FBI and CIA. The PSIA provides critical information related to foreign and domestic territories and activities to the government in Tokyo that is essential for Japan’s national security. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Al Qaeda declared Japan as a potential target to launch its attacks on. The country, with the help of institutions such as the PSIA and Self Defense Forces (SDF) took proactive measures to curb the threat of terrorism through improved immigration controls, security measures, and intelligence gathering.
10. Germany
Score: 1.78
Bundesnachrichtendienst, or BND, and also known as the Federal Intelligence Service, is the primary intelligence agency of Germany that has expertise on foreign intelligence and electronic surveillance of international communication, which is pivotal to regional security in Europe. According to a report, Germany in 2021 changed its legal framework for foreign intelligence gatherings, which expanded the country’s SIGINT powers and allowed BND to hack foreign internet service providers and collect foreign metadata in bulk. BND’s network of over 4,000 spies is scattered all over the world.
9. France
Score: 2.05
Next up is France, whose secret service, Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), is one of the best intelligence agencies in the world, with a network of more than 5,000 agents across the globe who collect intelligence and inform the French government. According to a report, the DGSE has foiled more than 15 terrorist attacks in France since 2001. Moreover, France has 10 military satellites, which it uses for intelligence gathering. This is the highest number of military satellites in orbit for any European country. When it comes to cybersecurity, France received a score of 15 out of 50 on Belfer Center's National Cybersecurity Index 2022.
8. Australia
Score: 2.69
Australia is one of the countries with the best intelligence agencies, especially the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), that is tasked to oversee developments across the world. The agency works extensively in all areas that defend Australia’s political and economic interests. ASIS’s existence remained a secret even from the Australian government for more than two decades; founded in 1952, it was first referred to in the Parliament in 1975 and not publicly recognized till 1977. The ASIS received a score of 72.1 out of 100 on intelligence capabilities from the Lowy Institute and is also recognized by Vox News as one of the finest spy agencies in the world.
7. United Kingdom
Score: 3.80
MI6 is among the best intelligence agencies in the world. Founded in July 1909, it was not until 1994 when its identity was first made public. According to a report in Yahoo, the MI6 has spent about $2.6 billion on counter-terrorism operations alone in recent decades. It is also known to collect intelligence for the UK government on areas such as nuclear weapons and drug trafficking. The agency played a key role for the UK in both world-wars and then later, the cold war.
6. Pakistan
Score: 4.16
Pakistan’s intelligence gathering capabilities are recognized world-over, and its premier spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, was listed among the best intelligence agencies in the world by Foreign Policy, VOX News, Lowy Institute, and Yahoo – all the four sources considered for this article. Despite being underfunded, the ISI remains resourceful with a wide network of agents inside and outside Pakistan. One of the most notable achievements of the ISI was thwarting the Soviet Union’s expansion in Afghanistan and beyond. According to a report in Yahoo, the ISI is rumored to fund key policymakers in the West to lobby for Pakistan over matters related to diplomacy and geopolitics.