China - Military

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

China is located Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam. The climate is extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north. The terrain is mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east.

Military branches

This entry lists the service branches subordinate to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air, and marine forces).
Military branches - People's Liberation Army (PLA) : Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes airborne forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); PLA Reserve Force (2008)

Military service age and obligation

This entry gives the required ages for voluntary or conscript military service and the length of service obligation.
Military service age and obligation : 18-22 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with 24-month 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 (2007)

Manpower available for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and assumes that every individual is fit to serve.
Manpower available for military service - males age 16-49 : 375,009,345
Manpower available for military service - females age 16-49 : 354,314,328 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and who are not otherwise disqualified for health reasons; accounts for the health situation in the country and provides a more realistic estimate of the actual number fit to serve.
Manpower fit for military service - males age 16-49 : 313,321,639
Manpower fit for military service - females age 16-49 : 295,951,438 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

This entry gives the number of males and females entering the military manpower pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and is a measure of the availability of military-age young adults.
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - male : 10,760,380
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - female : 9,710,032 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures

This entry gives spending on defense programs for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
Military expenditures : 4.3% of GDP (2006)

More Information about the country