By Bruno Venditti
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, we visualize 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.
| Country | In service | NATO Member |
|---|---|---|
 United States |
11 | Yes |
 China |
3 | No |
 India |
2 | No |
 Italy |
2 | Yes |
 Japan |
2 | No |
 United Kingdom |
2 | Yes |
 France |
1 | Yes |
 Russia |
1 | No |
 Spain |
1 | Yes |
 Thailand |
1 | No |
 Turkey |
1 | Yes |
| Total | 27 |
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.
Of 11 countries that have aircraft carriers in their fleets, six are NATO members.
Source: Visual Capitalist
