Which Country Has The Most War Ships In Their Navy?

If there's one thing most people around the world know, it's that the United States has an impressive Navy. The U.S. boasts the most military submarines and is well-known for being the country with the most active aircraft carriers. Because of this, the question of which nation has the most warships might lead many to answer that it's the U.S. While the U.S. Navy has many impressive warships with widespread capabilities that make it the strongest on the planet, it doesn't have the most warships period.

The People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has more warships than any other country in the world. Still, when you're talking about pure combat power, the PLAN and U.S. Navy are incomparable, in favor of the State. If you're looking at sheer volume, China is king. The PLAN has been building up its forces for decades, hoping to establish a dominant naval presence in and around the South China Sea, and it's succeeding.

The PLAN is working hard to meet and exceed the U.S.' naval capabilities. One thing the PLAN has in its favor is time, as it takes considerably less to construct Chinese vessels when compared to the Americans. For example, it takes around seven or more years to build a U.S. aircraft carrier, and the forthcoming USS Enterprise has been delayed for several more years than planned. In the meantime, China spits them out in four to six years.

The PRC doesn't advertise all the strengths, weaknesses, and numbers of its warships, but some information is available. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, The PLAN is the world's largest navy, which operated 234 warships as of June 2024. The U.S. Navy operated 219, 11 of which are aircraft carriers. The PLAN has three carriers as of January 2025 and is building several more, while the U.S. focuses on replacing its aging fleet with more modern carriers. The U.S. plans on increasing its warship number to 373 by 2045, but that's a long way off, and China is well in the lead.

Of the PLAN's known operational vessels, there are 22 missile-armed corvettes, 80 missile-armed small patrol craft, and many more. The PLAN has 42 active destroyers, having more than doubled its fleet of 20 in 2003. It launched eight new cruisers since 2017, and around 70% of its current fleet launched after 2010, making the PLAN's vessels more modern than the U.S., though there exists upgrade and modernization plans to keep U.S. Navy warships afloat for decades.

In terms of shipbuilding, it's estimated that China's capacity in this area is 230 times that of the U.S., so increasing its fleet is a top priority for the PRC. Should the PLAN continue with its drive to add new, more powerful warships to its fleet, it could surpass the U.S. in terms of firepower via launch systems by 2027. While the U.S. Navy puts much of its emphasis on carriers, the PLAN relies on more traditional support ships, and by doing this, its number of warships makes it the largest in the world. And that isn't something that's likely to change anytime soon.