Chinavs Germany
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, China (#3) holds a solid edge over Germany (#12).
- China has nuclear weapons; Germany has none.
- China has aircraft carriers; Germany has none.
- China has destroyers; Germany has none.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyChina leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesChina leads 5 of 5
- Air powerChina leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesChina leads 7 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsChina leads 2 of 2
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
$114B2.04M
Active personnel
184K510K
Reserves
860K625K
Paramilitary
0Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; Germany: 2.3% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
296152K
Armored vehicles
87K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
1341,400
Towed artillery
02,770
Rocket artillery
33Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
5691,443
Fighters
127371
Attack aircraft
631,007
Helicopters
292281
Attack helicopters
499
Tankers
3287
Transports
55Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
963
Aircraft carriers
04
Helicopter carriers
061
Submarines
653
Destroyers
046
Frigates
1150
Corvettes
6Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
034
Deployed warheads
0Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- ChinavsIndia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- ChinavsJapan
- GermanyvsFrance
- GermanyvsUnited Kingdom
- PolandvsGermany
Profiles: China and Germany. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.