Ukraine
Armed forces personnel in Ukraine
Armed forces personnel in Ukraine: 430,000 people in 1992 and 298,000 people in 2020, by IISS estimates.
- Latest, 2020
- 298,000 people
- Since 1992
- −132,000 people
- Rank, 2020
- 24 of 170
- counting from the highest
- World, 2020
- 27.4 million people
people · IISS
What the numbers say
- The highest was 518,500 people in 1995, the lowest 121,500 people in 2013.
Every year
people · IISS
| Year | Ukraine | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 298,000 | 27.4 million |
| 2019 | 311,000 | 27.7 million |
| 2018 | 297,000 | 27.7 million |
| 2017 | 297,000 | 27.4 million |
| 2016 | 292,000 | 27.5 million |
| 2015 | 256,000 | 27.4 million |
| 2014 | 204,000 | 27.3 million |
| 2013 | 121,500 | 27.2 million |
| 2012 | 214,900 | 28.2 million |
| 2011 | 214,900 | 28 million |
| 2010 | 214,800 | 28.1 million |
| 2009 | 214,800 | 27.9 million |
| 2008 | 215,000 | 27.5 million |
| 2007 | 215,000 | 27.3 million |
| 2006 | 215,000 | 27 million |
| 2005 | 273,000 | 28.5 million |
| 2004 | 271,000 | 27.1 million |
| 2003 | 403,000 | 28.2 million |
| 2002 | 414,800 | 28.3 million |
| 2001 | 419,800 | 28.2 million |
| 2000 | 420,400 | 29.4 million |
| 1999 | 428,000 | 29.6 million |
| 1998 | 449,400 | 29.9 million |
| 1997 | 453,400 | 29.9 million |
| 1996 | 466,800 | 30.2 million |
| 1995 | 518,500 | 30.2 million |
| 1994 | 350,000 | 23.2 million |
| 1993 | 380,000 | 23.7 million |
| 1992 | 430,000 | 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
Ukraine in numbers
Every measure for Ukraine on one page
Health
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Military
- Military spending39.56% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollars$77.6B in 2025
- Military spending per person$2,197 in 2025
- Military share of state spending62.9% of government spending in 2025
- National power0.86% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workers1.43% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms imports2.26 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exports120 million TIV in 2025