Military

Who Has the Stronger Military: Russia or China?

Министерство обороны Российской Федерации / Wikimedia Commons

24/7 Wall St. Insights:

  • Russia and China are two of the strongest military powers in the world, here’s how they stack up head-to-head
  • Russia’s military has long been defined by its impressive arsenal of nuclear weapons, advanced fighter jets, and massive ground forces
  • China’s military has been characterized by rapid expansion over the last few decades alone
  • Also: Discover “The Next NVIDIA”

On the Asian continent, and the world in general, Russia and China stand as two of the most formidable military powers. While each country has its own objectives on the world stage, whether political or economic, militarily these two superpowers are somewhat comparable. This begs the question of who has the stronger military, Russia or China?

Russia’s military has long been defined by its impressive arsenal of nuclear weapons, advanced fighter jets, and massive ground forces. With over 1 million active-duty personnel, Russia’s armed forces operate over 14,000 tanks and 4,000 aircraft. Currently, Russia’s navy has just under 800 ships and subs at its disposal. (The oldest and most cutting-edge stealth aircraft flown today.)

China’s military has been characterized by rapid expansion over the last few decades alone. While China does have nuclear capabilities, its arsenal is not as extensive as its Russian counterpart. In fact, China comes up short on most metrics against Russia, with the exception of manpower where China boasts over 2 million active-duty personnel.

In terms of the numbers, China has just over 3,300 military aircraft, 5,000 tanks, and over 700 ships and subs in its navy. Although these numbers don’t measure up to Russia’s numbers, China’s recent modernization efforts on all fronts and production capacity pave the way for China to overtake Russia. (These countries have a concerning number of nuclear weapons.)

It should also be stated that Russia is currently involved in a hot conflict where much of its materiel is already devoted. Considering losses from this conflict, Russia has been turning the wheels of modernization as well in terms of procuring new vehicles and helicopters, among other assets, to update its forces.

So, while the question might be murky at the moment because these countries have comparable forces, Russia edges out China according to Global FirePower. However, at the rate that China is modernizing, this very well could flip in the coming years.

Aside from Russia and China, Asia is full of other formidable military forces like India and Pakistan. 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the strongest military forces in Asia.

To determine the countries with the strongest military might in Asia, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We included supplemental information regarding active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power as well. We included supplemental information regarding active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power as well.

Here is a look at the strongest militaries in Asia:

Why Are We Covering This?

Globe map focused on China. Russia Globe map focused on Russia. Close up map China. Close up map Russia. Globus with Asia and Russian Federation.
Artem Kontratiev / Shutterstock.com

Understanding the military dynamics of Asia is important considering the region’s complex geopolitical landscape and its growing strategic significance. Historically, Asia has been shaped by internal conflicts, border disputes, and great power competition. Today, its military forces play an important role in determining regional stability. As tensions rise over territorial claims and political influence, military power is the law of the land, from disputes in the South China Sea to the contested borders in South Asia.

45. Bhutan

Christopher J. Fynn / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 7,500
  • Total military aircraft: 2
  • Total military vehicles: 108
  • Total tanks: 0
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 6.3704 – #145 out of 145

Bhutan has a total population of 876,000, only a fraction of these actively serve the military.

44. Nepal

Nepal+military | DART - Nepal
Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 95,000
  • Total military aircraft: 15
  • Total military vehicles: 2,216
  • Total tanks: 0
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.8962 – #128 out of 145

Nepal has a total population of nearly 31 million, only about 11.6 million of these people are fit for service.

43. Lebanon

tanukiphoto / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 60,000
  • Total military aircraft: 81
  • Total military vehicles: 4,522
  • Total tanks: 204
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 69
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.4283 – #118 out of 145

Lebanon has a total population of 5.3 million, of these only some 1.8 million are fit for service.

42. Afghanistan

  • Active military personnel: 0
  • Total military aircraft: 17
  • Total military vehicles: 6,555
  • Total tanks: 0
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.2715 – #115 out of 145

Afghanistan has a total population around 39 million, and of these about 8.6 million are fit for service.

41. Laos

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 100,000
  • Total military aircraft: 34
  • Total military vehicles: 1,880
  • Total tanks: 130
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.2071 – #112 out of 145

Laos has a total population of 7.8 million, of these about 2.5 million are fit for service.

40. Cambodia

mauriziobiso / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 221,000
  • Total military aircraft: 24
  • Total military vehicles: 4,094
  • Total tanks: 322
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 31
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.1725 – #111 out of 145

Cambodia has a population of 16.9 million, of these only 5.7 million are fit for military service.

39. Tajikistan

  • Active military personnel: 9,500
  • Total military aircraft: 25
  • Total military vehicles: 4,650
  • Total tanks: 80
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.1265 – #107 out of 145

Tajikistan has a population of 9.2 million and of those only 3.4 million are fit for military service.

38. Mongolia

  • Active military personnel: 35,000
  • Total military aircraft: 11
  • Total military vehicles: 3,600
  • Total tanks: 470
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.1079 – #105 out of 145

Mongolia has a population of 3.3 million, of these 1.5 million are fit for service.

37. Armenia

Joel Carillet / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 57,500
  • Total military aircraft: 64
  • Total military vehicles: 736
  • Total tanks: 221
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.0583 – #102 out of 145

Armenia has a total population of 3 million, of these only 1.4 million are fit for service.

36. Kyrgyzstan

US Air Force / United States government work / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 23,000
  • Total military aircraft: 6
  • Total military vehicles: 2,772
  • Total tanks: 215
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 2.0057 – #100 out of 145

Kyrgyzstan has a total population of 6.1 million and of these 1.4 million are fit for military service.

35. Bahrain

usnavy / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 18,400
  • Total military aircraft: 120
  • Total military vehicles: 2,598
  • Total tanks: 180
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 58
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.7163 – #86 out of 145

Bahrain has a total population of 1.5 million and of these 714,000 are fit for military service.

34. Georgia

itpow / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 55,000
  • Total military aircraft: 52
  • Total military vehicles: 5,256
  • Total tanks: 235
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 19
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.6969 – #84 out of 145

Georgia has a total population of 4.9 million and of these 2.2 million are fit for military service.

33. Turkmenistan

irontrybex / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 36,500
  • Total military aircraft: 90
  • Total military vehicles: 8,312
  • Total tanks: 680
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 44
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.4906 – #83 out of 145

Turkmenistan has a total population of 5.7 million and of these 2.2 million are fit for military service.

32. Yemen

Ahmet Akman31 / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 66,700
  • Total military aircraft: 177
  • Total military vehicles: 4,800
  • Total tanks: 55
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 38
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.4692 – #81 out of 145

Yemen has a total population of 31.6 million and of these 8.9 million are fit for military service.

31. Jordan

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 100,500
  • Total military aircraft: 265
  • Total military vehicles: 24,148
  • Total tanks: 1,365
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 27
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.4651 – #80 out of 145

Jordan has a total population of 11.1 million and of these 3.0 million are fit for military service.

30. Oman

WO2 Pete Bristo MBE / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 42,600
  • Total military aircraft: 128
  • Total military vehicles: 5,019
  • Total tanks: 154
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 22
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.4448 – #78 out of 145

Oman has a total population of 3.8 million and of these 1.3 million are fit for military service.

29. Kuwait

phot705 / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 72,000
  • Total military aircraft: 144
  • Total military vehicles: 4,409
  • Total tanks: 367
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 123
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.4261 – #77 out of 145

Kuwait has a total population of 3.1 million and of these 1.4 million are fit for military service.

28. Sri Lanka

ertyo5 / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 346,000
  • Total military aircraft: 86
  • Total military vehicles: 3,708
  • Total tanks: 182
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 270
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.3459 – #75 out of 145

Sri Lanka has a total population of 23.6 million and of these 9.2 million are fit for military service.

27. Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan+military | Ilyushin Il-76 "Candid"
Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 48,000
  • Total military aircraft: 191
  • Total military vehicles: 5,526
  • Total tanks: 270
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 0
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.1069 – #65 out of 145

Uzbekistan has a total population of 31.4 million and of these 13.7 million are fit for military service.

26. Qatar

  • Active military personnel: 66,550
  • Total military aircraft: 228
  • Total military vehicles: 5,544
  • Total tanks: 99
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 123
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.0789 – #63 out of 145

Qatar has a total population of 2.5 million and of these 486,000 are fit for military service.

25. Syria

U.S. Department of Defense / Public Domain / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 170,000
  • Total military aircraft: 452
  • Total military vehicles: 14,550
  • Total tanks: 2,720
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 47
  • Military strength score and world rank: 1.0026 – #60 out of 145

Syria has a total population of 22.9 million and of these 12.7 million are fit for military service.

24. Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan+tanks | Exercise Saber Guardian 2016
Public Domain / usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 126,400
  • Total military aircraft: 144
  • Total military vehicles: 29,312
  • Total tanks: 920
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 24
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.9934 – #59 out of 145

Azerbaijan has a total population of 10.4 million and of these 3.8 million are fit for military service.

23. Kazakhstan

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Active military personnel: 110,000
  • Total military aircraft: 243
  • Total military vehicles: 6,012
  • Total tanks: 300
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 18
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.9495 – #58 out of 145

Kazakhstan has a total population of 19.5 million and of these 6.7 million are fit for military service.

22. United Arab Emirates

Stocktrek Images / Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 65,000
  • Total military aircraft: 560
  • Total military vehicles: 12,253
  • Total tanks: 354
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 79
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.8083 – #51 out of 145

United Arab Emirates has a total population of 10.0 million and of these 4.9 million are fit for military service.

21. Iraq

nyalr / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 193,000
  • Total military aircraft: 371
  • Total military vehicles: 39,872
  • Total tanks: 848
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 68
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.7441 – #45 out of 145

Iraq has a total population of 41.3 million and of these 14.0 million are fit for military service.

20. Malaysia

  • Active military personnel: 113,000
  • Total military aircraft: 143
  • Total military vehicles: 13,965
  • Total tanks: 48
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 101
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.5992 – #42 out of 145

Malaysia has a total population of 34.2 million and of these 13.3 million are fit for military service.

19. Bangladesh

Karimphoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 163,000
  • Total military aircraft: 216
  • Total military vehicles: 13,100
  • Total tanks: 320
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 117
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.5419 – #37 out of 145

Bangladesh has a total population of 167.2 million and of these 65.5 million are fit for military service.

18. North Korea

alexkuehni / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 1,320,000
  • Total military aircraft: 951
  • Total military vehicles: 24,696
  • Total tanks: 5,845
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 505
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.5313 – #36 out of 145

North Korea has a total population of 26.1 million and of these 5.3 million are fit for military service.

17. Myanmar

ronemmons / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 150,000
  • Total military aircraft: 293
  • Total military vehicles: 8,139
  • Total tanks: 705
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 227
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.5251 – #35 out of 145

Myanmar has a total population of 58.0 million and of these 22.1 million are fit for military service.

16. Philippines

ClaudineVM / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 150,000
  • Total military aircraft: 195
  • Total military vehicles: 7,562
  • Total tanks: 10
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 111
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.4691 – #34 out of 145

Philippines has a total population of 116.4 million and of these 41.1 million are fit for military service.

15. Singapore

U.S. Department of Defense / Public Domain / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 51,000
  • Total military aircraft: 247
  • Total military vehicles: 8,318
  • Total tanks: 170
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 43
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.4087 – #30 out of 145

Singapore has a total population of 6.0 million and of these 2.6 million are fit for military service.

14. Thailand

Naval Surface Warriors / CC BYU-SA 2.0 / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 360,850
  • Total military aircraft: 501
  • Total military vehicles: 14,040
  • Total tanks: 648
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 293
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.3389 – #25 out of 145

Thailand has a total population of 69.8 million and of these 27.9 million are fit for military service.

13. Taiwan

presidentialoffice / Flickr
  • Active military personnel: 215,000
  • Total military aircraft: 750
  • Total military vehicles: 19,868
  • Total tanks: 1,010
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 93
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.3302 – #24 out of 145

Taiwan has a total population of 23.6 million and of these 1.1 million are fit for military service.

12. Saudi Arabia

Photo by Abid Katib / Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 257,000
  • Total military aircraft: 914
  • Total military vehicles: 20,694
  • Total tanks: 1,485
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 57
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.3235 – #23 out of 145

Saudi Arabia has a total population of 36.0 million and of these 17.2 million are fit for military service.

11. Vietnam

  • Active military personnel: 600,000
  • Total military aircraft: 226
  • Total military vehicles: 18,578
  • Total tanks: 2,029
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 97
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.3158 – #22 out of 145

Vietnam has a total population of 104.8 million and of these 44.6 million are fit for military service.

10. Israel

Joel Carillet / E+ via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 170,000
  • Total military aircraft: 612
  • Total military vehicles: 43,407
  • Total tanks: 1,370
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 67
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.2596 – #17 out of 145

Israel has a total population of 9.0 million and of these 3.2 million are fit for military service.

9. Iran

Iran Shahed-136 | Iranian military unmanned aerial vehicle at sunset. Combat drone
Anton Petrus / Moment via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 610,000
  • Total military aircraft: 551
  • Total military vehicles: 65,765
  • Total tanks: 1,996
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 101
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.2269 – #14 out of 145

Iran has a total population of 87.6 million and of these 41.2 million are fit for military service.

8. Indonesia

  • Active military personnel: 400,000
  • Total military aircraft: 474
  • Total military vehicles: 11,604
  • Total tanks: 313
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 333
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.2251 – #13 out of 145

Indonesia has a total population of 279.5 million and of these 113.7 million are fit for military service.

7. Pakistan

  • Active military personnel: 654,000
  • Total military aircraft: 1,434
  • Total military vehicles: 50,523
  • Total tanks: 3,742
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 114
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145

Pakistan has a total population of 247.7 million and of these 84.2 million are fit for military service.

6. Turkey

CatEyePerspective / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 355,200
  • Total military aircraft: 1,069
  • Total military vehicles: 55,104
  • Total tanks: 2,231
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 186
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145

Turkey has a total population of 83.6 million and of these 3.6 million are fit for military service.

5. Japan

viper-zero / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 247,150
  • Total military aircraft: 1,459
  • Total military vehicles: 37,662
  • Total tanks: 518
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 155
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.1601 – #7 out of 145

Japan has a total population of 123.7 million and of these 43.1 million are fit for military service.

4. South Korea

  • Active military personnel: 600,000
  • Total military aircraft: 1,576
  • Total military vehicles: 66,492
  • Total tanks: 2,501
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 200
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145

South Korea has a total population of 52.0 million and of these 21.3 million are fit for military service.

3. India

BDphoto / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 1,455,550
  • Total military aircraft: 2,296
  • Total military vehicles: 151,248
  • Total tanks: 4,614
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 294
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145

India has a total population of 1.4 billion and of these 519.1 million are fit for military service.

2. China

grynold / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 2,035,000
  • Total military aircraft: 3,304
  • Total military vehicles: 174,300
  • Total tanks: 5,000
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 730
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145

China has a total population of 1.4 billion and of these 626.0 million are fit for military service.

1. Russia

Kichigin / iStock via Getty Images
  • Active military personnel: 1,320,000
  • Total military aircraft: 4,255
  • Total military vehicles: 161,382
  • Total tanks: 14,777
  • Total navy ships and submarines: 781
  • Military strength score and world rank: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145

Russia has a total population of 141.7 million and of these 46.5 million are fit for military service.

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