Bahrain vs China Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Bahrain
8K active troops
$1B budget
VS
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
180
Tanks
5,651
203
Armored Vehicles
35,000
118
Artillery
10,366
9
Rocket Systems
2,430
21
Fighter Jets
1,200
49
Helicopters
912
64
Warships
777
0
Submarines
79
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
Bahrain
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
Bahrain
0.4% OF LARGEST
8.2K
TROOPS
China has 248.17× the active personnel of Bahrain
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
Bahrain
3.2% OF LARGEST
106
AIRCRAFT
China has 30.99× the aircraft of Bahrain
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Bahrain
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 8,200 | 2,035,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 0 | 510,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 8,200 | 2,545,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $1,400,000,000 | $292,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 180 | 5,651 |
| Armored Vehicles | 203 | 35,000 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 82 | 4,120 |
| Towed Artillery | 36 | 6,246 |
| Rocket Projectors | 9 | 2,430 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Bahrain
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 106 | 3,285 |
| Fighters | 21 | 1,200 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 1,600 |
| Transport Aircraft | 3 | 406 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 33 | 314 |
| Helicopters | 49 | 912 |
| Attack Helicopters | 28 | 281 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Bahrain
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 64 | 777 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 3 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 41 |
| Frigates | 1 | 49 |
| Corvettes | 2 | 72 |
| Submarines | 0 | 79 |
| Patrol Vessels | 51 | 220 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 4 | 36 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Bahrain vs China comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology