China vs Saudi Arabia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
China
2M active troops
$300B budget
VS
Saudi Arabia
200K active troops
$70B budget
5,651
Tanks
1,062
35,000
Armored Vehicles
5,472
10,366
Artillery
484
2,430
Rocket Systems
322
1,200
Fighter Jets
177
912
Helicopters
244
777
Warships
55
79
Submarines
0
Nuclear Arsenal
China
LARGEST
500
WARHEADS
Saudi Arabia
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
China
LARGEST
2.04M
TROOPS
Saudi Arabia
11.2% OF LARGEST
227K
TROOPS
China has 8.96× the active personnel of Saudi Arabia
Air Force Total Aircraft
China
LARGEST
3.29K
AIRCRAFT
Saudi Arabia
27.3% OF LARGEST
897
AIRCRAFT
China has 3.66× the aircraft of Saudi Arabia
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 2,035,000 | 227,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 510,000 | 0 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,545,000 | 227,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $292,000,000,000 | $67,600,000,000 |
| Tanks | 5,651 | 1,062 |
| Armored Vehicles | 35,000 | 5,472 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 4,120 | 224 |
| Towed Artillery | 6,246 | 260 |
| Rocket Projectors | 2,430 | 322 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 3,285 | 897 |
| Fighters | 1,200 | 177 |
| Attack Aircraft | 1,600 | 245 |
| Transport Aircraft | 406 | 221 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 314 | 173 |
| Helicopters | 912 | 244 |
| Attack Helicopters | 281 | 39 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
China
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 777 | 55 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 3 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 41 | 3 |
| Frigates | 49 | 7 |
| Corvettes | 72 | 4 |
| Submarines | 79 | 0 |
| Patrol Vessels | 220 | 11 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 36 | 7 |
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