China vs Malta Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
VS
Malta
2K active troops
$90000000 budget
5,651
Tanks
0
35,000
Armored Vehicles
14
10,366
Artillery
0
2,430
Rocket Systems
0
1,200
Fighter Jets
0
912
Helicopters
2
777
Warships
9
79
Submarines
0
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
Malta
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
Malta
0.1% OF LARGEST
2K
TROOPS
China has 1017.50× the active personnel of Malta
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
Malta
0.2% OF LARGEST
6
AIRCRAFT
China has 547.50× the aircraft of Malta
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Malta
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 2,035,000 | 2,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 510,000 | 0 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,545,000 | 2,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $292,000,000,000 | $85,000,000.0 |
| Tanks | 5,651 | 0 |
| Armored Vehicles | 35,000 | 14 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 4,120 | 0 |
| Towed Artillery | 6,246 | 0 |
| Rocket Projectors | 2,430 | 0 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Malta
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 3,285 | 6 |
| Fighters | 1,200 | 0 |
| Attack Aircraft | 1,600 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 406 | 2 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 314 | 2 |
| Helicopters | 912 | 2 |
| Attack Helicopters | 281 | 0 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Malta
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 777 | 9 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 3 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 41 | 0 |
| Frigates | 49 | 0 |
| Corvettes | 72 | 0 |
| Submarines | 79 | 0 |
| Patrol Vessels | 220 | 9 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 36 | 0 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full China vs Malta comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology