The World’s Largest Militaries, by Four Different Measures
November 2, 2026
Key Takeaways
China leads three of the four measures: active personnel, tanks, and naval assets. The country ranks third in military aircraft.
The U.S. ranks first in military aircraft with 13,032, more than Russia, China, India, and South Korea combined.
Russia ranks second in tanks, military aircraft, and naval assets, while tying with North Korea for fourth in active military personnel at 1.32 million.
Military size looks very different depending on whether you count troops, tanks, aircraft, or ships. A country near the top of one ranking can fall well down another.
This graphic uses 2026 data from Global Firepower to compare the top 10 countries across four measures of military size: active military personnel, tanks, military aircraft, and naval assets.
North Korea Nearly Matches the U.S. in Military Personnel
China has the largest active military, with 2.04 million personnel. But farther down the ranking, North Korea comes remarkably close to the United States, with an estimated 1.32 million personnel compared with 1.33 million.
The table below ranks the 10 largest active forces across all military branches, excluding reserves and paramilitaries:
Rank | Country | Active Personnel |
1 | 🇨🇳 China | 2,035,000 |
2 | 🇮🇳 India | 1,431,000 |
3 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 1,333,030 |
4 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 1,320,000 |
4 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 1,320,000 |
6 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 900,000 |
7 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 660,000 |
8 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 610,000 |
9 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 503,000 |
10 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 481,000 |
North Korea’s position reflects a military heavily oriented toward a potential land war on the Korean Peninsula. Japan’s 2026 defense white paper describes a force centered on the army, with much of its ground strength deployed near the demilitarized zone separating it from South Korea.
Tank Ranks by Country
That emphasis on land warfare also shows up in the tank ranking. China leads, but North Korea places third, ahead of the United States.
The table below shows the 10 largest tank inventories:
Rank | Country | Tanks |
1 | 🇨🇳 China | 5,870 |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 5,630 |
3 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 4,895 |
4 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 4,666 |
5 | 🇮🇳 India | 3,913 |
6 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 3,620 |
7 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 2,677 |
8 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 2,675 |
9 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 2,284 |
10 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 1,999 |
North Korea has retained tanks based on Soviet designs from the 1950s and 1960s alongside newer equipment, according to research published by RUSI. Keeping older vehicles in service can sustain a large inventory, but raw counts do not account for differences in armor, sensors, or weapons that can prove decisive on the battlefield.
Why China’s Lead Disappears in the Air
The U.S. aircraft fleet numbers 13,032, more than the next four countries combined. Its size reflects the demands of global operations, which require far more than combat jets.
The following table ranks the 10 largest aircraft inventories across all military branches, including helicopters, transports, and trainers:
Rank | Country | Military Aircraft |
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 13,032 |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 4,237 |
3 | 🇨🇳 China | 3,529 |
4 | 🇮🇳 India | 2,183 |
5 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 1,540 |
6 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 1,429 |
7 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 1,397 |
8 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 1,101 |
9 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 1,088 |
10 | 🇫🇷 France | 974 |
America’s global military presence depends on moving troops and supplies across oceans and keeping combat aircraft flying far from their bases. Those operations require large fleets of transport planes and refueling tankers alongside fighter jets.
The gap narrows considerably when comparing fighters and interceptors alone. The U.S. has 1,791 compared with China’s 1,443, a lead of roughly 24%. This highlights how much of America’s overall aircraft advantage comes from other types of military aircraft.
China Has More Ships. America Has Bigger Ones.
China’s naval expansion benefits from a vast commercial shipbuilding industry. CSIS research shows how civilian and military production share shipyards, allowing naval construction to draw on infrastructure and investment supported by commercial orders.
The table below ranks the 10 largest naval inventories by vessel count, including patrol boats and small craft:
Rank | Country | Naval Assets |
1 | 🇨🇳 China | 841 |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 747 |
3 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 465 |
4 | 🇮🇳 India | 343 |
5 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 338 |
6 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 332 |
7 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 304 |
8 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 285 |
9 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 279 |
10 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 275 |
China’s 841 vessels comfortably exceed America’s 465. But a patrol boat and an aircraft carrier each count as one vessel, despite enormous differences in their size and capabilities.
The picture reverses when measuring fleets by tonnage rather than vessel count. On Global Firepower’s fleet-tonnage ranking, the United States takes first place, with roughly 2.6 times China’s total displacement.
While tonnage still leaves out factors like weapons and readiness, the comparison illustrates an important limitation of military size rankings: counting equipment does not necessarily reveal its capabilities or effectiveness.
Where the U.S., Russia, China, and Other Powers Send Weapons
Key Takeaways:
The U.S. accounted for 42% of global major arms exports in 2021–2025, with Saudi Arabia its largest recipient.
Ukraine received 94% of Poland’s arms exports, reflecting military support following Russia’s invasion.
China sent 61% of its arms exports to Pakistan, while India received 48% of Russia’s exports.
The world’s biggest weapons exporters supply countries across the globe, but their largest recipients reveal some of the most important relationships in international security.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), international transfers of major weapons increased 9.2% between 2016–2020 and 2021–2025.
Who Receives Weapons From the Biggest Arms Exporters?
The following table ranks the world’s leading arms exporters and identifies their biggest recipients, using SIPRI’s 2021–2025 transfer-volume data.
The figures highlight how arms trade relationships reflect geopolitical alliances and regional security priorities. Some countries supply weapons to a broad network of partners, while others depend heavily on a handful of recipients.
Rank | Arms Exporter | Share of Global Exports (%) | Top Recipient | 2nd Recipient | 3rd Recipient |
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 42.0 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (12%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (9.4%) | 🇯🇵 Japan (8.9%) |
2 | 🇫🇷 France | 9.8 | 🇮🇳 India (24%) | 🇪🇬 Egypt (11%) | 🇬🇷 Greece (10%) |
3 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 6.8 | 🇮🇳 India (48%) | 🇨🇳 China (13%) | 🇧🇾 Belarus (13%) |
4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 5.7 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (24%) | 🇪🇬 Egypt (14%) | 🇮🇱 Israel (10%) |
5 | 🇨🇳 China | 5.6 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan (61%) | 🇷🇸 Serbia (6.8%) | 🇹🇭 Thailand (4.7%) |
6 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 5.1 | 🇶🇦 Qatar (26%) | 🇰🇼 Kuwait (17%) | 🇮🇩 Indonesia (12%) |
7 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 4.4 | 🇮🇳 India (29%) | 🇩🇪 Germany (21%) | 🇺🇸 U.S. (7.8%) |
8 | 🇬🇧 UK | 3.4 | 🇶🇦 Qatar (31%) | 🇺🇸 U.S. (14%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (13%) |
9 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 3.0 | 🇵🇱 Poland (58%) | 🇵🇭 Philippines (18%) | 🇦🇪 UAE (9.5%) |
10 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2.3 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (28%) | 🇹🇷 Türkiye (16%) | 🇧🇪 Belgium (12%) |
11 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 1.8 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan (16%) | 🇦🇪 UAE (12%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (8.4%) |
12 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1.2 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (23%) | 🇺🇸 U.S. (20%) | 🇵🇰 Pakistan (16%) |
13 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 1.0 | 🇺🇸 U.S. (33%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (22%) | 🇷🇴 Romania (16%) |
14 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 1.0 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (94%) | 🇪🇪 Estonia (1.6%) | 🇸🇪 Sweden (1.4%) |
15 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 0.9 | 🇧🇷 Brazil (24%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (14%) | 🇵🇰 Pakistan (12%) |
16 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 0.7 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (34%) | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (27%) | 🇺🇸 U.S. (17%) |
17 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 0.4 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (69%) | 🇻🇳 Vietnam (14%) | 🇭🇺 Hungary (9.0%) |
18 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 0.4 | 🇦🇪 UAE (39%) | 🇸🇬 Singapore (19%) | 🇨🇩 DRC (9.1%) |
19 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 0.3 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (50%) | 🇦🇷 Argentina (19%) | 🇳🇴 Norway (7.7%) |
20 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 0.3 | 🇪🇸 Spain (46%) | 🇩🇰 Denmark (14%) | 🇷🇴 Romania (12%) |
21 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 0.3 | 🇨🇳 China (64%) | 🇮🇳 India (23%) | 🇶🇦 Qatar (5.8%) |
22 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 0.3 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (24%) | 🇨🇦 Canada (23%) | 🇺🇸 U.S. (21%) |
23 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 0.3 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (30%) | 🇺🇦 Ukraine (23%) | 🇨🇦 Canada (21%) |
24 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 0.3 | 🇵🇹 Portugal (45%) | 🇭🇺 Hungary (26%) | 🇳🇬 Nigeria (13%) |
25 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 0.3 | 🇷🇺 Russia (73%) | 🇻🇪 Venezuela (17%) | Houthi rebels (9.1%) |
The data reveals two distinct patterns. Major exporters such as the United States supply weapons to a wide range of countries, while others have more concentrated relationships, with a single recipient accounting for a majority of their exports.
These differences can reflect longstanding defense partnerships, regional security concerns, or the immediate demands of ongoing conflicts.
Why Does Saudi Arabia Buy So Many American Weapons?
Saudi Arabia was the world’s third-largest arms importer in 2021–2025, obtaining 77% of its imported major weapons from the United States.
The relationship spans decades of security cooperation. American-made aircraft, air-defense systems, and other advanced equipment play a central role in Saudi Arabia’s military capabilities, particularly as the country seeks to deter regional threats and protect critical infrastructure.
These purchases also sustain commercial relationships with American defense manufacturers, part of a broader global industry that includes some of the world’s largest arms companies.
Are Countries Buying Weapons or Receiving Military Aid?
Not every international weapons transfer represents a commercial purchase. Some weapons are provided as military assistance, particularly during active conflicts.
Ukraine was the world’s largest recipient of major arms in 2021–2025, following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Transfers from countries including the United States, Germany, and Poland reflect the scale of international military support.
Weapons can also serve different purposes. Some replenish equipment consumed in active conflicts, while others modernize militaries, strengthen deterrence, or build reserves against future threats.
This distinction matters when interpreting the rankings. SIPRI measures the volume of major weapons transferred, rather than their financial value or whether they were ultimately deployed.
Which Countries Export the Most Military Drones?
Key Takeaways
The U.S. and Iran supplied 86% of the 16,822 military drones exported globally from 2022 to 2025.
Türkiye exported just 381 drones but supplied 28 countries, nearly three times more buyers than any other exporter.
In 2025, Iran delivered 2,002 military drones, five times as many as the U.S.
Military drones have moved from the margins of warfare to the front line, yet only a handful of countries export them at scale.
The U.S. and Iran dominate the trade, with most of their exports supplying opposite sides of the war in Ukraine.
This graphic ranks the 14 countries that exported military drones over 2022-2025, using data from the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database.
SIPRI counts drone aircraft weighing at least 150 kg, plus one-way attack drones and loitering munitions, which are built to strike once and be destroyed. The figures include drones sent as aid or built in the buyer’s country under license, but largely exclude small FPV and commercial drones.
U.S. and Iran Supply 86% of All Exported Military Drones
The U.S. exported 7,593 military drones and Iran 6,800, each more than six times as many as third-ranked Germany (1,000). Nearly all went to a single war: 95% of U.S. drones went to Ukraine, while 99% of Iran’s went to Russia.
The table below shows how many military drones each country exported from 2022 to 2025, along with its share of the global total:
Rank | Exporter | Military Drone Exports (2022–2025) | |
Drones Supplied | Share of Global Total (%) | ||
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 7,593 | 45.1 |
2 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 6,800 | 40.4 |
3 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1,000 | 5.9 |
4 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 690 | 4.1 |
5 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 381 | 2.3 |
6 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 205 | 1.2 |
7 | 🇨🇳 China | 64 | 0.4 |
8 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 32 | 0.2 |
9 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | 20 | 0.1 |
9 | 🇬🇧 UK | 20 | 0.1 |
11 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 7 | <0.1 |
12 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 5 | <0.1 |
13 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 3 | <0.1 |
14 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 2 | <0.1 |
-- | Global Total | 16,822 | 100.0 |
Almost all of these drones were built for a single use. One-way attack drones and loitering munitions make up 97% of the global total, which helps explain how a few wartime transfers can add up to thousands of units. Every drone the U.S. sent to Ukraine during this period was of this type.
Nearly all of Iran’s exports were Shahed-136 drones that Russia also assembled and produced under license, which SIPRI still counts as Iranian exports. Iran built up its drone industry in response to a UN arms embargo that tightened over time before expiring in 2020.
Below the top two, exports drop off quickly. Only Germany (1,000) and Poland (690) delivered more than 500 drones, while the bottom seven exporters, from Czechia to Sweden, delivered 89 combined.
U.S. Military Drone Exports Fell Sharply in 2025
Drone export patterns for the two largest suppliers shifted sharply in 2025. U.S. exports climbed from 1,010 in 2022 to 3,219 in 2024, then fell to 402 in 2025, the same year new U.S. military aid to Ukraine came to a halt.
Iran, meanwhile, continued delivering about 2,000 drones a year from 2023 through 2025, making it the largest exporter in 2025 by a wide margin.
The table below shows how many military drones the U.S. and Iran exported each year from 2022 to 2025:
Country | Military Drones Exported | |||
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
🇺🇸 U.S. | 1,010 | 2,962 | 3,219 | 402 |
🇮🇷 Iran | 735 | 2,031 | 2,032 | 2,002 |
Most U.S. drones shipped in 2025 went to Taiwan, which received 291 loitering munitions and ranks third among all military drone importers from 2022 to 2025. Ukraine received 100 U.S.-made loitering munitions that year, paid for by the UK.
Europe partly filled the gap left by the U.S. in Ukraine. All 1,000 of Germany’s drone exports, consisting of loitering munitions sent to Ukraine as aid, were delivered in 2025.
Türkiye Sells Military Drones to More Countries Than Anyone Else
Türkiye ranks fifth by number of drones exported, but no country has more customers. It supplied 28 countries from 2022 to 2025, more than half of the 54 countries that imported military drones and nearly three times as many as the U.S. or China, with 10 each.
Those buyers are spread across the globe. Twelve are in Africa, while the rest range from NATO members such as Poland and Romania to Pakistan, Kuwait, and Ukraine.
Türkiye also sells a different kind of drone. About three-quarters of its exports were larger aircraft such as the Bayraktar TB2, which can fly mission after mission. It supplied 281 of the 486 larger drone aircraft exported worldwide, or 58%.
That difference is why SIPRI also measures arms transfers using a second metric, the trend-indicator value (TIV). Instead of counting units, it assigns each weapon a standardized value based on the production cost of comparable weapons, so one large armed drone counts for far more than a single-use one. TIV reflects the military capability transferred rather than the price paid, and by this measure Türkiye was the largest drone exporter of the period.
