Chinavs South Korea
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, China (#3) holds a narrow edge over South Korea (#5).
- China has nuclear weapons; South Korea has none.
- China has aircraft carriers; South Korea has none.
- China spends 7× as much on its military.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyChina leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesChina leads 4 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
$47.8B2.04M
Active personnel
450K510K
Reserves
3.1M625K
Paramilitary
120KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; South Korea: 2.6% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
1,831152K
Armored vehicles
117K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
2,7801,400
Towed artillery
5,8002,770
Rocket artillery
525Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
1,5401,443
Fighters
242371
Attack aircraft
981,007
Helicopters
827281
Attack helicopters
1139
Tankers
4287
Transports
40Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
2153
Aircraft carriers
04
Helicopter carriers
261
Submarines
2253
Destroyers
1446
Frigates
1850
Corvettes
3Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
034
Deployed warheads
0Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- ChinavsIndia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- North KoreavsSouth Korea
- ChinavsJapan
- JapanvsSouth Korea
- ChinavsAustralia
Profiles: China and South Korea. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.