Australia vs China Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Australia
60K active troops
$30B budget
VS
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
59
Tanks
5,651
1,426
Armored Vehicles
35,000
129
Artillery
10,366
6
Rocket Systems
2,430
85
Fighter Jets
1,200
141
Helicopters
912
47
Warships
777
6
Submarines
79
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
Australia
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
Australia
2.9% OF LARGEST
59K
TROOPS
China has 34.49× the active personnel of Australia
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
Australia
14.2% OF LARGEST
465
AIRCRAFT
China has 7.06× the aircraft of Australia
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 59,000 | 2,035,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 28,850 | 510,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 88,450 | 2,545,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $31,800,000,000 | $292,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 59 | 5,651 |
| Armored Vehicles | 1,426 | 35,000 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 54 | 4,120 |
| Towed Artillery | 75 | 6,246 |
| Rocket Projectors | 6 | 2,430 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 465 | 3,285 |
| Fighters | 85 | 1,200 |
| Attack Aircraft | 24 | 1,600 |
| Transport Aircraft | 47 | 406 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 168 | 314 |
| Helicopters | 141 | 912 |
| Attack Helicopters | 22 | 281 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 47 | 777 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 3 |
| Destroyers | 3 | 41 |
| Frigates | 8 | 49 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 72 |
| Submarines | 6 | 79 |
| Patrol Vessels | 13 | 220 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 6 | 36 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology