Ezekial,
There is a lot of national pride here about NASA and the US space program. Since I roam the forums I noticed that many Americans still think of space like in the old days of the cold war propaganda.
Today's world is very different. While the US is still a major space player, you cannot say it is the first or the second because most projects these days are international. Did you know that american rockets use Russian engines? That every computer display flying in space is made in Europe? The knowledge, skills and experience are spread among many nations.
Russia is the leader for propulsion systems and man-rated rockets and vehicles. The designs dating back to the USSR days are reliable, sturdy and safe. It is also the nation having achieved the most historical milestones in space exploration. But Russia as a country lacks the economical potential to keep the pace in space exploration. With a meager budget of $2.5B, Russia is still capable of amazing feats, but its space program could not stay afloat without external help.
Europe has a huge knowledge base and is potentially the largest 'space power' of the future, but it has not yet achieved much, compared to Russia and the US. However, European companies are unavoidable in any space endeavor today. As a political entity, Europe lacks the boldness ('boots and flags') of other countries. Its space program is very scientific in nature, closely integrated with the science and development effort of the EU. As a result, the relatively modest budget of about $5B is very rationally invested.
The USA is the biggest spender, with a budget of $18B, not counting the US military space budget. However, lobbying, bureaucracy and a failing national economy have greatly hampered the effectiveness of the US space investments. The nationalistic goals of manned space exploration conflict with the scientific mission of NASA, political decisions wasting huge resources in dead-ends and cancelled programs. The US space program is in the process of being reformed on a competitive base, leaving sterile US-only policy in favor of more international cooperation. If this effort succeeds the US will become the lead catalyst of space exploration inside the international community, with enormous gains for all.
Japan has proven itself an ambitious space power. At $2.5B, the budget of JAXA is producing effective results with recent successes in missions on pair with the best international efforts.
India has announced very ambitious plans, leaping in all directions at once: 'boots and flags', science, commercial and military. However, the ISRO has not yet delivered much, so it remains to see what will become of its $1.2B budget.
Israel, Korea, Brazil, Iran,...
Israel and others smaller actors on the space stage are in the process of developing mainly military or commercial applications.
China is the biggest question mark of all space powers. The Chinese follow a private agenda seemingly based on national pride and the military rather than Science or even business. However, not much is known of the evolution of the Chinese space program, only bold declarations that have repeatedly failed to deliver. Nothing is known of the space budget and the Chinese hide the true extent of their efforts as a military secret.
Private businesses like Bigelow, Virgin galactic, SpaceX and others could become the next big thing in space, mainly in making space more affordable. Other private initiatives, like AdAstra's VASIMR engine, could really make a difference in how space exploration evolves.