Namibia vs Zambia: Armed forces personnel

Armed forces personnel in 2020: 16,000 people in Namibia and 16,000 people in Zambia, by IISS estimates. In 2020 both had 16,000 people.

people · IISS

NamibiaZambiaEstimates, Correlates of WarWorld

What the numbers say

people · IISS

Year	Namibia	Zambia	World
2020	16,000	16,000	27.4 million
2019	16,000	16,000	27.7 million
2018	15,900	16,100	27.7 million
2017	16,000	16,000	27.4 million
2016	15,900	16,500	27.5 million
2015	15,200	16,500	27.4 million
2014	15,200	16,500	27.3 million
2013	15,200	16,500	27.2 million
2012	15,200	16,500	28.2 million
2011	15,200	16,500	28 million
2010	15,200	16,500	28.1 million
2009	15,200	16,500	27.9 million
2008	15,000	16,000	27.5 million
2007	15,000	16,000	27.3 million
2006	15,000	16,000	27 million
2005	15,000	16,000	28.5 million
2004	15,000	16,000	27.1 million
2003	15,000	19,500	28.2 million
2002	15,000	23,000	28.3 million
2001	15,000	23,000	28.2 million
2000	9,100	23,000	29.4 million
1999	9,100	23,000	29.6 million
1998	9,100	23,000	29.9 million
1997	5,900	23,000	29.9 million
1996	8,200	23,000	30.2 million
1995	8,100	23,000	30.2 million
1994	8,000	16,000	23.2 million
1993	8,000	16,000	23.7 million
1992	8,000	16,000	24.5 million
1991	8,000	16,000	22.7 million
1990	10,000	16,000	23.9 million
1989	–	17,000	24.3 million
1985	–	16,200	22.2 million
1984	–	16,000	–
1983	–	16,000	–
1982	–	16,000	–
1981	–	17,000	–
1980	–	15,000	–
1979	–	14,000	–
1978	–	14,000	–
1977	–	20,000	–
1976	–	17,000	–
1975	–	16,000	–
1974	–	16,000	–
1973	–	16,000	–
1972	–	14,000	–
1971	–	13,000	–
1970	–	12,000	–
1969	–	11,000	–
1968	–	11,000	–
1967	–	10,000	–
1966	–	11,000	–
1965	–	9,000	–
1964	–	9,000	–

Active-duty military personnel, with paramilitary forces where they are trained and equipped like soldiers, by the IISS Military Balance.
Source: IISS, The Military Balance, via the World Bank.
Before 1985: Correlates of War Project, National Material Capabilities v7.0; Singer, Bremer and Stuckey (1972), “Capability Distribution, Uncertainty, and Major Power War, 1820–1965”, in Bruce Russett (ed.), Peace, War, and Numbers, Sage, 19–48.
Ranks count the 170 countries with a value in 2020, highest first.
The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time