Compare armed forces

Alliance builder

Military power of Sweden & China

Sweden flag svg China flag svg

Sweden vs China

Show map
Sweden China

Sweden is a country located in Northern Europe with an area of 450,295 km2 (land boundries: 2,211 km and costline 3,218 km). The capital of Sweden is Stockholm. The number of inhabitants is 10,385,347.

The Swedish military cooperates closely with the military forces of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists olso of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. Sweden is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and contributes to CSDP missions and operations. In 2022 Sweden applied for NATO membership and was formally invited to join the alliance at the NATO Summit in Madrid. The inventory of the SAF is comprised of domestically-produced and imported Western weapons systems. The United States is the leading supplier of military hardware.

More about Sweden military

China is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 9,596,961 km2 (land boundries: 22,457 km and costline 14,500 km). The capital of China is Beijing. The number of inhabitants is 1,444,390,177.

The People's Liberation Army is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission. The PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries. Russia is the main supplier military equipment outside the domestic industry.

More about China military

If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

small flag SE SE small flag CN CN
Military budget: 7.6 billion $ 293 billion $
Percent of GDP: 1.3% 1.7%

Military budget

small flag SE small flag CN
Highest value in the world: 816 billion $ (USA)
More

Manpower

small flag SE SE small flag CN CN
Active personnel: 23,600 2,035,000
Reserve personnel: 31,300 2,000,000
Available for military: 2,065,782 385,821,101

Active

small flag SE small flag CN
Highest value in the world: 2,035,000 (China)
More

Land Forces

small flag SE SE small flag CN CN
Tanks: 121 5,750
Armoured fighting vehicles: 2,071 14,130
Total artillery: 268 7,094
Self-propelled artillery: 48 2,720
Rocket artillery: 0 3,140

Tanks

tank svg
small flag small flag
Highest value in the world: 12,267 (Russia)
More

Air Forces

small flag SE SE small flag CN CN
Total aircraft: 207 4,630
Fighter aircraft: 0 1,049
Multirole aircraft: 94 1,130
Attack aircraft: 0 120
Helicopters: 53 1,355
UCAV (combat drone): 0 151

Total aircraft

airplane svg
small flag small flag
Highest value in the world: 12,930 (USA)
More

Navy

small flag SE SE small flag CN CN
Total naval: 186 742
Aircraftcarriers: 0 4
Destroyers: 0 38
Frigates: 0 54
Corvettes: 7 73
Submarines: 5 74

Total naval

ship svg
small flag small flag
Highest value in the world: 967 (North Korea)
More

Nuclear weapons

Sweden

Does not have nuclear weapons.

China

The last of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT, which at this moment possesses approximately 280 nuclear warheads in total. Nevertheless, the number of deployed bombs is unknown. The first test that occurred to be successful occurred in 1964. The main goal of Chinese was to build a deterrent against two major nuclear powers, namely The United States as well as The Soviet Union. The nation decided to choose dried lake for the nuclear site, Lop Nur. Although China developed and tested its first atomic device only in 1964, they managed to test their first hydrogen bomb only 32 months later. As a result, they can boast with the shortest period between developing fission and fusion technology.

China managed to conduct 45 tests of nuclear weapons. Still, the data regarding the stockpile of accumulated warheads is uncertain. The same thing concerns the number of deployed warheads. It is all due to the limited information that the country provides. We should also bear in mind that they are the only country out of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT that does not give a positive security assurance.

Military service

Sweden

18-47 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; Swedish citizenship required; service obligation: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), 8-12 months (Air Force); the Swedish Parliament has abolished compulsory military service, with exclusively voluntary recruitment as of July 2010; conscription remains an option in emergencies; after completing initial service, soldiers have a reserve commitment until age 47.

China

18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles.