Visualizing All The World's Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers are warships equipped with a full-length flight deck for carrying, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Since they allow naval forces to utilize air power without relying on local bases, they usually serve as the capital ships of a fleet.

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti visualizes the number of aircraft carriers in service by country as of May 2024.

This graphic only includes ships capable of carrying planes (excluding those designed solely for helicopters). The list is based on data from various sources.

U.S. Dominance

The U.S., with 11 aircraft carriers in total, owns 40% of the global fleet. Some of the American carriers can carry around 80 fighters. The country’s total combined deck space is over twice that of all other nations combined.

Along with France, the U.S. is the only nation with nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. These ships can remain at sea for as long as crew provisions last, without the need for refueling.

In 2024, China’s newest, largest, and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, started sea trials. With the addition of this ship, the country becomes second in our ranking.

Of 11 countries that have aircraft carriers in their fleets, six are NATO members.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out ‘Visualized: Top 15 Global Tank Fleets.’ This visualization showcases the most powerful tank fleets as of 2024.