Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Nuclear Arsenal
Russia
LARGEST
5,580
WARHEADS
China
9.0% OF LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
India
3.1% OF LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
Brazil
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
South Africa
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
India
71.0% OF LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Russia
44.2% OF LARGEST
900K
TROOPS
Brazil
18.0% OF LARGEST
366.5K
TROOPS
South Africa
3.6% OF LARGEST
74K
TROOPS
Air Force Total Aircraft
Russia
LARGEST
4.17K
AIRCRAFT
China
78.7% OF LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
India
52.3% OF LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Brazil
16.3% OF LARGEST
679
AIRCRAFT
South Africa
5.4% OF LARGEST
226
AIRCRAFT
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Brazil
|
China
|
India
|
Russia
|
South Africa
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 366,500 | 2,035,000 | 1,445,000 | 900,000 | 74,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,340,000 | 510,000 | 1,155,000 | 2,000,000 | 15,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 1,700,000 | 2,545,000 | 2,610,550 | 3,350,000 | 89,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $19,700,000,000 | $292,000,000,000 | $81,400,000,000 | $154,000,000,000 | $3,500,000,000 |
| Tanks | 439 | 5,651 | 4,614 | 12,420 | 195 |
| Armored Vehicles | 1,896 | 35,000 | 12,000 | 30,122 | 2,265 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 56 | 4,120 | 100 | 6,574 | 43 |
| Towed Artillery | 550 | 6,246 | 4,175 | 7,571 | 97 |
| Rocket Projectors | 180 | 2,430 | 266 | 3,391 | 50 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Brazil
|
China
|
India
|
Russia
|
South Africa
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 679 | 3,285 | 2,182 | 4,173 | 226 |
| Fighters | 43 | 1,200 | 538 | 789 | 17 |
| Attack Aircraft | 57 | 1,600 | 172 | 1,391 | 23 |
| Transport Aircraft | 110 | 406 | 250 | 445 | 106 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 168 | 314 | 359 | 496 | 67 |
| Helicopters | 151 | 912 | 812 | 1,543 | 91 |
| Attack Helicopters | 12 | 281 | 68 | 544 | 12 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Brazil
|
China
|
India
|
Russia
|
South Africa
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 112 | 777 | 295 | 605 | 30 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 41 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| Frigates | 6 | 49 | 13 | 11 | 4 |
| Corvettes | 3 | 72 | 19 | 86 | 0 |
| Submarines | 5 | 79 | 17 | 70 | 3 |
| Patrol Vessels | 42 | 220 | 139 | 65 | 6 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 6 | 36 | 3 | 47 | 0 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Brazil vs China vs India vs Russia vs South Africa comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology