South Sudan

Armed forces personnel in South Sudan

Armed forces personnel in South Sudan: 140,000 people in 2010 and 53,000 people in 2020, by IISS estimates.

Latest, 2020
53,000 people
Since 2010
−87,000 people
Rank, 2020
67 of 170
counting from the highest
World, 2020
27.4 million people
Watch it change on the map

people · IISS

Armed forces personnel in South SudanArmed forces personnel in South Sudan: 140,000 people in 2010 and 53,000 people in 2020, by IISS estimates. The highest was 210,000 people in 2011, the lowest 53,000 people in 2020.
Estimates, IISSWorld

What the numbers say

  • The highest was 210,000 people in 2011, the lowest 53,000 people in 2020.

Every year

people · IISS

YearSouth SudanWorld
202053,00027.4 million
2019185,00027.7 million
2018185,00027.7 million
2017185,00027.4 million
2016185,00027.5 million
2015185,00027.4 million
2014185,00027.3 million
2013185,00027.2 million
2012210,00028.2 million
2011210,00028 million
2010140,00028.1 million
2009–27.9 million
2008–27.5 million
2007–27.3 million
2006–27 million
2005–28.5 million
2004–27.1 million
2003–28.2 million
2002–28.3 million
2001–28.2 million
2000–29.4 million
1999–29.6 million
1998–29.9 million
1997–29.9 million
1996–30.2 million
1995–30.2 million
1994–23.2 million
1993–23.7 million
1992–24.5 million
1991–22.7 million
1990–23.9 million
1989–24.3 million
1985–22.2 million

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.
  • 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

South Sudan in numbers

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