Saudi Arabia

Armed forces personnel in Saudi Arabia

Armed forces personnel in Saudi Arabia: 62,500 people in 1985 and 282,000 people in 2020, by IISS estimates.

Latest, 2020
282,000 people
Since 1985
+219,500 people
Rank, 2020
25 of 170
counting from the highest
World, 2020
27.4 million people
Watch it change on the map

people · IISS

Armed forces personnel in Saudi ArabiaArmed forces personnel in Saudi Arabia: 62,500 people in 1985 and 282,000 people in 2020, by IISS estimates. In 2020, Saudi Arabia ranked 25 of 170 countries, counting from the highest.
Estimates, IISSEstimates, Correlates of WarWorld

What the numbers say

  • Older estimates from Correlates of War reach back to 1927: 4,000 people.

Every year

people · IISS

YearSaudi ArabiaWorld
2020282,00027.4 million
2019252,00027.7 million
2018252,00027.7 million
2017252,00027.4 million
2016251,50027.5 million
2015251,50027.4 million
2014251,50027.3 million
2013251,50027.2 million
2012249,00028.2 million
2011249,00028 million
2010249,00028.1 million
2009249,00027.9 million
2008238,00027.5 million
2007238,00027.3 million
2006240,00027 million
2005216,00028.5 million
2004214,00027.1 million
2003215,00028.2 million
2002215,00028.3 million
2001217,20028.2 million
2000217,00029.4 million
1999178,00029.6 million
1998178,00029.9 million
1997178,00029.9 million
1996178,50030.2 million
1995177,50030.2 million
1994164,00023.2 million
1993172,00023.7 million
1992172,00024.5 million
1991191,00022.7 million
1990146,00023.9 million
198982,00024.3 million
198562,50022.2 million
198480,000–
198380,000–
198280,000–
198179,000–
198079,000–
197979,000–
197875,000–
197775,000–
197675,000–
197575,000–
197475,000–
197375,000–
197275,000–
197175,000–
197065,000–
196960,000–
196860,000–
196750,000–
196645,000–
196540,000–
196440,000–
196335,000–
196237,000–
196135,000–
196030,000–
195930,000–
195830,000–
195731,000–
195632,000–
195533,000–
195434,000–
19539,000–
19528,000–
19517,000–
19506,000–
19495,000–
19484,000–
19474,000–
19464,000–
19454,000–
19444,000–
19434,000–
19424,000–
19414,000–
19404,000–
19394,000–
19384,000–
19374,000–
19364,000–
19354,000–
19344,000–
19334,000–
19324,000–
19314,000–
19304,000–
19294,000–
19284,000–
19274,000–
  • 12.3Estimates, Correlates of War

Good to know

  • 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

Saudi Arabia in numbers

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