Chinavs Turkey
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, China (#3) holds a solid edge over Turkey (#9).
- China has nuclear weapons; Turkey has none.
- China has aircraft carriers; Turkey has none.
- China has destroyers; Turkey has none.
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
$30.0B2.04M
Active personnel
481K510K
Reserves
380K625K
Paramilitary
150KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; Turkey: 1.9% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
2,284152K
Armored vehicles
98K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
1,0451,400
Towed artillery
6352,770
Rocket artillery
237Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
1,1011,443
Fighters
201371
Attack aircraft
01,007
Helicopters
509281
Attack helicopters
1119
Tankers
7287
Transports
84Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
1923
Aircraft carriers
04
Helicopter carriers
161
Submarines
1453
Destroyers
046
Frigates
1750
Corvettes
9Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
034
Deployed warheads
0Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- ChinavsIndia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- ChinavsJapan
- IsraelvsTurkey
- TurkeyvsIran
- EgyptvsTurkey
Profiles: China and Turkey. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.