China (People’s Republic of) vs Russian Federation: Military expenditure

China (People’s Republic of)
313.66 billion current USD
in 2024
Russian Federation
148.97 billion current USD
in 2024
China (People’s Republic of) rank
2nd
Russian Federation rank
3rd

Military expenditure over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • Russian Federation
0100.0B200.0B300.0B198720052024

How they compare

China (People’s Republic of) currently reports 313.66 billion current USD against 148.97 billion current USD in Russian Federation, a difference of 164.69 billion current USD.

That makes China (People’s Republic of)'s figure about 2.1 times Russian Federation's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 35 shared years of data; in 1989 it was China (People’s Republic of) ahead.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and Russian Federation ranks 3rd of 167 countries.

China (People’s Republic of) has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) Russian Federation Difference Ahead
1980s 11.25 billion current USD 0 current USD 11.25 billion current USD China (People’s Republic of)
1990s 13.81 billion current USD 9.10 billion current USD 4.71 billion current USD China (People’s Republic of)
2000s 48.20 billion current USD 28.59 billion current USD 19.61 billion current USD China (People’s Republic of)
2010s 180.05 billion current USD 71.29 billion current USD 108.76 billion current USD China (People’s Republic of)
2020s 289.27 billion current USD 97.63 billion current USD 191.64 billion current USD China (People’s Republic of)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military expenditure, China (People’s Republic of) or Russian Federation?
China (People’s Republic of), at 313.66 billion current USD against 148.97 billion current USD in Russian Federation as of 2024.
What is the difference in military expenditure between China (People’s Republic of) and Russian Federation?
164.69 billion current USD, with China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and Russian Federation?
35 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2024.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and Russian Federation rank globally for military expenditure?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and Russian Federation ranks 3rd of 167 countries.
Where does this data come from?
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Military expenditure (current USD). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

China (People’s Republic of) vs Russian Federation: Military expenditure. Statizoid, drawing on SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-usd/china/russian-federation/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-usd/china/russian-federation/">China (People’s Republic of) vs Russian Federation: Military expenditure</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Military expenditure (current USD)
Unit
current USD
Source
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
211 places, 10,601 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Military spending USD, in current prices (converted at the exchange rate for the given year)