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NATIONAL FORCES · COMPARISON
China vs Japan
| Overview | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
Active personnel DefinitionFull-time active military personnel; exclude reserves and paramilitary unless explicitly identified. | 2,000,000Estimate · people · 2025Single sourceReported full-time active military personnel, including serving conscripts where present; reserve pools are not added. This is an estimated headcount, not an authorised establishment, mobilisation potential or readiness measure. The figure is explicitly for the People's Liberation Army. People's Armed Police and militia are not added. | 217,701people · 31 Mar 2026Single sourceActual uniformed Japan Self-Defense Forces strength on 31 March 2026, all three services plus Joint Staff and other joint/internal units. Actual personnel, not the 247,154 budget establishment; reserve personnel and Ministry civilian employees excluded. |
Armed forces personnel DefinitionActive-duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces whose training, organisation, equipment and control allow them to support or replace regular forces. This is not an active-regular-only count. | 2,535,000people · 2020Single source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. | 261,000people · 2020Single source2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count. |
Combat aircraft DefinitionIn-service fixed-wing combat aircraft; exclude stored, retired and ordered aircraft. In service does not establish readiness. | 2,750Estimate · aircraft · 2025 assessment · published 23 Dec 2025Single sourceEstimated PLAAF and PLAN Aviation fixed-wing combat aircraft in the 2025 U.S. government assessment: fighters including combat-capable trainer variants, plus bombers/attack aircraft. Excludes the larger all-trainer figure, transport/tankers and special-mission aircraft. | 255Estimate · aircraft · 8 Oct 2024Single sourceNational in-service fixed-wing aircraft classified as Combat aircraft by FlightGlobal/Cirium, summing the Active column across all military services listed for the country. Excludes the separately classified trainers, special-mission aircraft, tankers and helicopters, as well as aircraft in storage, undergoing or awaiting upgrades, and orders. This is the directory's active-role inventory estimate, not a measure of combat readiness. |
Defence spending DefinitionAnnual military expenditure in current US dollars. State fiscal year, coverage and conversion basis in notes. | US$251bnEstimate · USD · 2025 IISS defence budget assessmentSingle sourceSource-reported annual official defence budget/appropriation in current US dollars; it is a budget figure, not an assertion of final expenditure or readiness. Explicit 2025 economic-table year column; USD ε251bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. Source coverage/fiscal-year notes: [b] Central Expenditure budget including local militia funding The printed ε marks this cell as estimated. | US$60.9bnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS defence budget forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceSource-reported annual official defence budget/appropriation in current US dollars; it is a budget figure, not an assertion of final expenditure or readiness. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 60.9bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. Source coverage/fiscal-year notes: [a] No supplemental agreed for defence in 2025 or 2026 at time of writing The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. |
GDP DefinitionAnnual nominal GDP in current US dollars, not purchasing-power parity. | US$20.7tnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS nominal GDP forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceAnnual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 20.7trn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. | US$4.46tnEstimate · USD · 2026 IISS nominal GDP forecast (November 2025 assessment)Single sourceAnnual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 4.46trn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn. |
Main battle tanks DefinitionIn-service main battle tanks; exclude storage and orders. | 4,700Estimate · vehicles · 2025 edition; census date not statedSingle sourcePLA main battle tank fleet as classified by IISS; excludes the separately listed 1,250 light tanks and 1,200 wheeled assault guns. | 300Estimate · vehicles · 31 Mar 2024Single sourceApproximately 300 tanks in the completed Ground Self-Defense Force tank structure at the end of Japanese FY2023. Excludes the separately listed Type16 mobile combat vehicles; rounded force-structure count, not a precise total of every stored or trial vehicle. |
Population DefinitionTotal resident population; retain the source's reference year. | 1,406,585,000people · 2025Single source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. | 123,366,734people · 2025Single source2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate. |
Reserve personnel DefinitionReported reserve personnel, with mobilisation and training definitions stated in notes. | 510,000Estimate · people · 2026 source edition; census date not statedSingle sourceMilitary reserve personnel in the 2026 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Reservists are not normally kept under arms and are available for mobilisation. Excludes the separately reported Active military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date. | 36,072people · 31 Mar 2026Single sourceActual appointed SDF reserve membership on 31 March 2026: 32,267 regular reservists plus 3,805 ready reservists. Excludes 3,499 reserve candidates still undergoing initial training (予備自衛官補), the general military-eligible population and authorized unfilled reserve positions. |
Submarines DefinitionCommissioned submarines; exclude vessels on order and decommissioned vessels. | 58Estimate · vessels · 2025 assessment · published 23 Dec 2025Single sourceEstimated PLAN submarine force in the 2025 U.S. government assessment, China Total column: conventional attack, nuclear attack and ballistic-missile submarines. Report publication date is used; this is not a 2026 census. | 22vessels · 31 Mar 2025Single sourceJapanese Maritime Self-Defense Force submarines commissioned into service at 31 March 2025. Excludes orders; not a readiness count. |
Transport aircraft DefinitionIn-service dedicated fixed-wing military transport aircraft; exclude trainers and orders. | 289Estimate · aircraft · 8 Oct 2024Single sourceNational in-service fixed-wing military transport aircraft classified as Transport by FlightGlobal/Cirium, summing the Active column across all military services listed for the country. Includes strategic, tactical and light liaison/utility transport aircraft; excludes the separately classified trainers, special-mission aircraft, tankers and helicopters, as well as aircraft in storage, undergoing or awaiting upgrades, and orders. This is the directory's active-role inventory estimate, not a measure of immediate availability. | 55Estimate · aircraft · 8 Oct 2024Single sourceNational in-service fixed-wing military transport aircraft classified as Transport by FlightGlobal/Cirium, summing the Active column across all military services listed for the country. Includes strategic, tactical and light liaison/utility transport aircraft; excludes the separately classified trainers, special-mission aircraft, tankers and helicopters, as well as aircraft in storage, undergoing or awaiting upgrades, and orders. This is the directory's active-role inventory estimate, not a measure of immediate availability. |
Major surface combatants DefinitionCommissioned cruisers, destroyers and frigates. Exclude patrol craft and support vessels. | 100Estimate · vessels · 2025 assessment · published 23 Dec 2025Single sourceEstimated national naval cruisers, destroyers and frigates in the 2025 U.S. government Taiwan Strait force-balance assessment. Excludes aircraft carriers, corvettes, patrol, amphibious, Coast Guard and support vessels. Reported fleet quantity, not mission readiness. | —Not yet documented |
Nuclear warheads DefinitionWarheads in the military stockpile, deployed or in reserve; exclude retired warheads awaiting dismantlement. Independent estimates, labelled as such. | 620Estimate · warheads · 2026 estimateSingle sourceWarheads in the military stockpile: in the custody of the military and earmarked for use by military forces, deployed or in reserve. Excludes retired warheads awaiting dismantlement. | —Not yet documented |
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
702 matching equipment types
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | ||
| Chengdu J-10 | 132Air Force · 2025 608People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Chengdu J-20 | 300–350People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Chengdu J-7 | 4172024 | — |
| F-15 Eagle | — | 199Japan Air Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| F-35 Lightning II | — | 47Japan Air Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia 49Air Self-Defense Force · 2025 |
| JF-17 Thunder | 2002026Wikipedia | — |
| Mitsubishi F-15J | — | 200Air Self-Defense Force · 2025 |
| Mitsubishi F-2 | — | 85Japan Air Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia 64Air Self-Defense Force · 2025 |
| Shenyang J-11 | 50People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force · 2026Wikipedia 245People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Shenyang J-15 | ≥116People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Shenyang J-16 | 350–470People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Shenyang J-35 | ≥4People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Tanks | ||
| Komatsu LAV | — | 1,818Japan Ground Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Type 10 | — | 117Japan Ground Self-Defense Force · 2025 |
| Type 100 tank | In service | — |
| Type 15 tank | 500Army · 2025 1,000People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Type 59 tank | 4002025 | — |
| Type 63 (tank) | In service | — |
| Type 80/88 main battle tank | 3002025 | — |
| Type 96 tank | 2,5002025 | — |
| Type 99 tank | 600Army · 2025 ≥1,370People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation · 2026Wikipedia | — |
| Armoured vehicles | ||
| Assault Amphibious Vehicle | — | In service |
| Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle | — | 8Japan Ground Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Common Tactical Wheeled Vehicle | — | In service |
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Air defence | ||
| FB-10 | In service | — |
| FK-3000 | In service | — |
| HN-5 | In service | — |
| HQ-11 | ≥4Air Force · 2025 ≥4People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 | — |
| HQ-12 | 150Air Force · 2025 150People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 | — |
| HQ-16 | 2502025 | — |
| HQ-17 | 200Army · 2025 | — |
| HQ-22 | ≥130Air Force · 2025 ≥130People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 | — |
| HQ-6 | 30Army · 2025 24Air Force · 2025 30People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation · 2024Wikipedia | — |
| HQ-7 | 2002025 | — |
| HQ-9 | 196People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 | — |
| M167 VADS | — | In service |
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Small arms | ||
| AGS-17 | In service | — |
| AK-47 | In service | — |
| AKM | In service | — |
| AMR-2 | In service | — |
| Benelli M3 | — | In service |
| Beretta ARX160 | — | In service |
| Chiang Kai-shek rifle | In service | — |
| CS/LR17 | In service | — |
| CS/LR3 | In service | — |
| CS/LR35 | In service | — |
| CS/LR4 | In service | — |
| CS/LS5 | In service | — |
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Remote weapon stations | ||
| Protector RWS | — | In service |
| Equipment | China | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Radar & sensors | ||
| AN/PVS-14 | — | ≥22,942Japan Ground Self-Defense Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| IAI Harpy | In service | — |
| P-14 radar | In service | — |
| YLC-2 Radar | In service | — |
| Communications & electronic warfare | ||
| Mark 36 SRBOC | — | In service |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 1,415,135,431 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
No shared land boundary is represented in the Natural Earth dataset. Approximate separation between the dataset’s country label points: 3,000 km.
Generalized geography from Natural Earth 1:110m, version 5.1.1. Label-point distance is calculated on a sphere and rounded to the nearest 100 km; it is not a capital-to-capital distance, route, border distance or operational range. Dataset boundaries do not imply recognition of territorial claims.
Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:110m, v5.1.1 · Public domain · Research catalogue highlighted
Scores out of 100 on the ForceTally Index. Each bar splits in proportion to the two scores. A point at the centre of the chart means no sourced figure for that part.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS assessment | 3 units | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | approved |
| November 2025 IISS assessment | 4 units | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | approved |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 6 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 5 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 33 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 6 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 16 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 3 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 1,818 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 99 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 41 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 85 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 14 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 2 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 49 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 6 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 2 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 2 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 67 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 480 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 155 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 4 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 112 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | ≥22,942 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 14 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 4 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 37 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 180 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 32 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 20 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 1 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 8 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 4 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 4 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 1 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 8 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 4 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 115 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 11 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 504 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 13 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 8 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| Source snapshot 2026-10-01 · inventory date unstated | 17 units | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |