China vs South Korea Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
VS
South Korea
600K active troops
$50B budget
5,651
Tanks
2,321
35,000
Armored Vehicles
3,100
10,366
Artillery
3,536
2,430
Rocket Systems
600
1,200
Fighter Jets
406
912
Helicopters
833
777
Warships
234
79
Submarines
22
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
South Korea
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
South Korea
27.3% OF LARGEST
555K
TROOPS
China has 3.67× the active personnel of South Korea
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
South Korea
48.1% OF LARGEST
1.58K
AIRCRAFT
China has 2.08× the aircraft of South Korea
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 2,035,000 | 555,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 510,000 | 3,100,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,545,000 | 3,655,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $292,000,000,000 | $46,700,000,000 |
| Tanks | 5,651 | 2,321 |
| Armored Vehicles | 35,000 | 3,100 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 4,120 | 1,836 |
| Towed Artillery | 6,246 | 1,700 |
| Rocket Projectors | 2,430 | 600 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 3,285 | 1,581 |
| Fighters | 1,200 | 406 |
| Attack Aircraft | 1,600 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 406 | 49 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 314 | 293 |
| Helicopters | 912 | 833 |
| Attack Helicopters | 281 | 112 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
South Korea
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 777 | 234 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 3 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 41 | 12 |
| Frigates | 49 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 72 | 34 |
| Submarines | 79 | 22 |
| Patrol Vessels | 220 | 111 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 36 | 11 |
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