Canada vs China Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Canada
70K active troops
$30B budget
VS
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
82
Tanks
5,651
1,788
Armored Vehicles
35,000
126
Artillery
10,366
0
Rocket Systems
2,430
62
Fighter Jets
1,200
151
Helicopters
912
64
Warships
777
4
Submarines
79
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
Canada
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
Canada
3.3% OF LARGEST
68K
TROOPS
China has 29.93× the active personnel of Canada
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
Canada
14.1% OF LARGEST
464
AIRCRAFT
China has 7.08× the aircraft of Canada
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Canada
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 68,000 | 2,035,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 30,000 | 510,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 100,000 | 2,545,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $26,500,000,000 | $292,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 82 | 5,651 |
| Armored Vehicles | 1,788 | 35,000 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 89 | 4,120 |
| Towed Artillery | 37 | 6,246 |
| Rocket Projectors | 0 | 2,430 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Canada
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 464 | 3,285 |
| Fighters | 62 | 1,200 |
| Attack Aircraft | 86 | 1,600 |
| Transport Aircraft | 60 | 406 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 103 | 314 |
| Helicopters | 151 | 912 |
| Attack Helicopters | 0 | 281 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Canada
|
China
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 64 | 777 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 3 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 41 |
| Frigates | 0 | 49 |
| Corvettes | 12 | 72 |
| Submarines | 4 | 79 |
| Patrol Vessels | 8 | 220 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 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