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?
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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