Chinavs Spain
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, China (#3) holds a clear lead over Spain (#18).
- China has nuclear weapons; Spain has none.
- China has destroyers; Spain has none.
- China fields 31× as many submarines.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyChina leads 4 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
$40.2B2.04M
Active personnel
122K510K
Reserves
24K625K
Paramilitary
78KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; Spain: 2.1% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
298152K
Armored vehicles
49K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
961,400
Towed artillery
1882,770
Rocket artillery
0Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
4401,443
Fighters
136371
Attack aircraft
121,007
Helicopters
169281
Attack helicopters
179
Tankers
0287
Transports
51Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
1753
Aircraft carriers
14
Helicopter carriers
061
Submarines
253
Destroyers
046
Frigates
1150
Corvettes
0Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
034
Deployed warheads
0Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- ChinavsIndia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- ChinavsJapan
- ChinavsAustralia
- SpainvsItaly
- United KingdomvsSpain
Profiles: China and Spain. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.