China vs World: Armed forces personnel, total
China
2.54 million
in 2020
World
27.41 million
in 2020
China rank
2nd
World rank
1st
Armed forces personnel, total over time
- China
- World
How they compare
World currently reports 27.41 million against 2.54 million in China, a difference of 24.87 million.
That makes World's figure about 10.8 times China's.
Across all 33 years both countries report, World has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and World ranks 1st of 173 countries.
Individual pages
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.