China vs United States of America Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
VS
United States of America
1M active troops
$800B budget
5,651
Tanks
6,612
35,000
Armored Vehicles
45,193
10,366
Artillery
2,837
2,430
Rocket Systems
1,366
1,200
Fighter Jets
1,957
912
Helicopters
5,400
777
Warships
472
79
Submarines
68
Nuclear Arsenal
United States of America
LARGEST
5,044
WARHEADS
China
9.9% OF LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
United States of America holds
10.1×
the warheads of China
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
United States of America
66.2% OF LARGEST
1.35M
TROOPS
China has 1.51× the active personnel of United States of America
Air Force Total Aircraft
United States of America
LARGEST
13.3K
AIRCRAFT
China
24.7% OF LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
United States of America has 4.05× the aircraft of China
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 2,035,000 | 1,347,300 |
| Reserve Personnel | 510,000 | 799,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,545,000 | 2,146,800 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $292,000,000,000 | $816,000,000,000.0 |
| Tanks | 5,651 | 6,612 |
| Armored Vehicles | 35,000 | 45,193 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 4,120 | 1,498 |
| Towed Artillery | 6,246 | 1,339 |
| Rocket Projectors | 2,430 | 1,366 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 3,285 | 13,300 |
| Fighters | 1,200 | 1,957 |
| Attack Aircraft | 1,600 | 2,800 |
| Transport Aircraft | 406 | 945 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 314 | 2,600 |
| Helicopters | 912 | 5,400 |
| Attack Helicopters | 281 | 983 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 777 | 472 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 3 | 11 |
| Destroyers | 41 | 73 |
| Frigates | 49 | 0 |
| Corvettes | 72 | 23 |
| Submarines | 79 | 68 |
| Patrol Vessels | 220 | 13 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 36 | 8 |
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