China vs. Pakistan
Military
| China | Pakistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (PLAN, includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (PLAAF, includes airborne forces), Rocket Force (strategic missile force), and Strategic Support Force (information warfare, cyber, space forces); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2021) note(s): the PAP is a paramilitary police component of China's armed forces that is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and charged with internal security, law enforcement, counterterrorism, and maritime rights protection in 2018, the Coast Guard was moved from the State Oceanic Administration to the PAP; in 2013, China merged four of its five major maritime law enforcement agencies - the China Marine Surveillance (CMS), Maritime Police, Fishery Law Enforcement (FLE), and Anti-Smuggling Police - into a unified coast guard | Pakistan Army (includes National Guard), Pakistan Navy (includes Marine forces, Maritime Security Agency), Pakistan Air Force (Pakistan Fizaia); Ministry of Interior paramilitary forces: Frontier Corps, Pakistan Rangers (2021) note: the National Guard is a paramilitary force and one of the Army's reserve forces, along with the Pakistan Army Reserve, the Frontier Corps, and the Pakistan Rangers |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-22 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 (2019) | 16-23 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age 18; women serve in all three armed forces; reserve obligation to age 45 for enlisted men, age 50 for officers (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.9% of GDP (2019) 1.9% of GDP (2018) 1.9% of GDP (2017) 1.9% of GDP (2016) | 4% of GDP (2019) 4.1% of GDP (2018) 3.8% of GDP (2017) 3.6% of GDP (2016) 3.6% of GDP (2015) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 2 million total active duty troops (est. 1.0 - 1.1 million Ground; 250,000 Navy/Marines; 350-400,000 Air Force; 120,000 Rocket Forces; 150-175,000 Strategic Support Forces); est. 600-650,000 People's Armed Police (2020) | information varies; approximately 640,000 active personnel (550,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 60,000 Air Force) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | 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 top supplier of foreign military equipment since 2010, followed by France and Ukraine; the Chinese defense-industrial sector is large and capable of producing advanced weapons systems across all military domains; it is the world's second largest arms producer (2020) note: the PLA is in the midst of a decades-long modernization effort; in 2017, President XI set three developmental goals for the force - becoming a mechanized force with increased information and strategic capabilities by 2020, a fully modernized force by 2035, and a worldwide first-class military by mid-century | the Pakistan military inventory includes a broad mix of equipment, primarily from China, France, Ukraine, the UK, and the US; since 2010, China and the US are the leading suppliers of arms to Pakistan; Pakistan also has a large domestic defense industry (2020) |
| Military deployments | 425 Mali (MINUSMA); 225 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 320 Sudan (UNAMID); 420 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 1,000 South Sudan (UNMISS); up to 2,000 Djibouti (Jan 2021) | 1,240 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 1,950 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 150 Mali (MINUSMA); 900 Sudan (UNAMID) (Jan 2021) |
Source: CIA Factbook
