People's Liberation Army
combined military forces of the People's Republic of China
The People's Liberation Army (or simply PLA) is the armed forces of the Communist Party of China. The army was established (founded) on August 1, 1927. The People's Liberation Army is the largest military force in the world. It has about 2,250,000 personnel or employees (about 0.18% of the population of China) under the Central Military Commission.
| People's Liberation Army 中国人民解放军 | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the People's Liberation Army | |
| Established | August 1, 1927 |
| Parts |  PLA Ground Force PLA Navy PLA Air ForceSecond Artillery Corps |
| Leadership | |
| Leaders of Central Military Commission | Xi Jinping (Chairman) Fan Changlong (Vice-chairman) Xu Qiliang (Vice-chairman) |
| Minister of National Defense | General Chang Wanquan |
| Chief of PLA General Staff | General Fang Fenghui |
| Serving soldiers | |
| Military age | 18–49 |
| Conscription | None enforced |
| Available to be a soldier |
385,821,101 males, age 16–49 (2010 est), 363,789,674 females, age 16–49 (2010 est) |
| Fit to be a soldier |
318,265,016 males, age 16–49 (2010 est), 300,323,611 females, age 16–49 (2010 est) |
| Reaching military age annually |
10,406,544 males (2010 est), 9,131,990 females (2010 est) |
| Active employees/soldiers | approximately 2,285,000(about 0.18% of population) [1][2] (ranked 1st) |
| Reserve personnel | 800,000[1][2][3] |
| Deployed personnel | Overseas: ~300 anti-pirate personnel in Somalia [1] Paramilitary: approximately 1,500,000[1][2][4] Total: 4,585,000~ [1][2] (ranked 6th) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | US$119 billion (2013)[5] (ranked 2nd) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.46% (2012 est.) |
| Industry | |
| Suppliers from foreign countries |
 Russia [6] |
| Annual imports |  Israel Turkey United States Russia
|
| Annual exports |  Indonesia Cambodia Malaysia France Pakistan Bangladesh United Kingdom Turkmenistan Hungary Eritrea Kyrgyzstan
|
| See also | |
| History | History of the PLA Modernization of the PLA |
| Ranks | Army Navy Air Force |
The PLA consists of five main branches: the PLA Ground Force, PLA Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF), Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), and the PLA Reserve Force. Military service is compulsory (required) of for all men and women who reach the age of 18.
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 IISS 2010, pp. 398–404
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Military Strength of China". Globalfirepower.com. Retrieved 2011-04-01. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ "Chinese Military Overview". SinoDefence.com. Retrieved Aug 17, 2012. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ Chinese People's Armed Police Force (CAPF)
- ↑ "China Boosts Defense Spending as Military Modernizes Arsenal". Bloomberg. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ "China / Aircraft / Jianjiji / Fighter". GlobalSecurity.org.
