Chinavs United Kingdom
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, China (#3) holds a narrow edge over the United Kingdom (#8).
- China fields 20× as many tanks.
- China has 14× as many active troops.
- China fields 14× as many fighters.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyChina leads 4 of 4
- Land forcesChina leads 5 of 5
- Air powerChina leads 6 of 7
- Naval forcesChina leads 7 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsEven, 1–1
Leads count raw numbers in each category. Larger is not always stronger: a modern fleet can beat a bigger, older one.
People and money
Who can be put in uniform, and how much is spent keeping them there.
$336B
Military spending
$89.0B2.04M
Active personnel
141K510K
Reserves
32K625K
Paramilitary
0Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; United Kingdom: 2.4% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
288152K
Armored vehicles
94K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
141,400
Towed artillery
1262,770
Rocket artillery
43Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
6251,443
Fighters
103371
Attack aircraft
381,007
Helicopters
262281
Attack helicopters
509
Tankers
9287
Transports
30Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
1163
Aircraft carriers
24
Helicopter carriers
061
Submarines
1053
Destroyers
646
Frigates
750
Corvettes
0Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
22534
Deployed warheads
120Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- ChinavsIndia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- ChinavsJapan
- United KingdomvsFrance
- GermanyvsUnited Kingdom
- RussiavsUnited Kingdom
Profiles: China and United Kingdom. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.