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Armed forces personnel around the world
Armed forces personnel, 2020: highest in India, at 3.07 million people, and lowest in Palestinian Territories, at 0 people, of 170 countries with a value. The world as a whole: 27.4 million people in 2020.
people · IISS
Every country, by its latest figure
people · IISS
| # | Country | Latest | Latest | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 3.07 million | 2020 | |
| 2 | China | 2.54 million | 2020 | |
| 3 | North Korea | 1.47 million | 2020 | |
| 4 | Russia | 1.45 million | 2020 | |
| 5 | United States | 1.4 million | 2020 | |
| 6 | Pakistan | 943,000 | 2020 | |
| 7 | Egypt | 836,000 | 2020 | |
| 8 | Brazil | 762,000 | 2020 | |
| 9 | Indonesia | 676,000 | 2020 | |
| 10 | Iran | 650,000 | 2020 | |
| 11 | South Korea | 569,000 | 2020 | |
| 12 | Vietnam | 522,000 | 2020 | |
| 13 | Türkiye | 512,000 | 2020 | |
| 14 | Myanmar (Burma) | 463,000 | 2020 | |
| 15 | Iraq | 459,000 | 2020 | |
| 16 | Thailand | 455,000 | 2020 | |
| 17 | Colombia | 428,000 | 2020 | |
| 18 | Venezuela | 343,000 | 2020 | |
| 19 | Mexico | 341,000 | 2020 | |
| 20 | Italy | 338,000 | 2020 | |
| 21 | Algeria | 326,000 | 2020 | |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 317,000 | 2020 | |
| 23 | France | 304,000 | 2020 | |
| 24 | Ukraine | 298,000 | 2020 | |
| 25 | Saudi Arabia | 282,000 | 2020 | |
| 26 | Syria | 269,000 | 2020 | |
| 27 | Japan | 261,000 | 2020 | |
| 28 | Morocco | 246,000 | 2020 | |
| 29 | Bangladesh | 227,000 | 2020 | |
| 30 | Nigeria | 223,000 | 2020 | |
| 31 | Eritrea | 202,000 | 2020 | |
| 32 | Spain | 199,000 | 2020 | |
| 33 | Cambodia | 191,000 | 2020 | |
| 34 | Poland | 189,000 | 2020 | |
| 35 | Germany | 183,000 | 2020 | |
| 36 | Israel | 178,000 | 2020 | |
| 37 | Afghanistan | 165,000 | 2020 | |
| 38 | Belarus | 158,000 | 2020 | |
| 39 | Peru | 158,000 | 2020 | |
| 40 | Philippines | 157,000 | 2020 | |
| 41 | United Kingdom | 153,000 | 2020 | |
| 42 | Greece | 147,000 | 2020 | |
| 43 | Sudan | 144,000 | 2020 | |
| 44 | Ethiopia | 138,000 | 2020 | |
| 45 | Malaysia | 136,000 | 2020 | |
| 46 | Congo - Kinshasa | 134,000 | 2020 | |
| 47 | Laos | 129,000 | 2020 | |
| 48 | Romania | 128,000 | 2020 | |
| 49 | Angola | 117,000 | 2020 | |
| 50 | Jordan | 116,000 | 2020 | |
| 51 | Chile | 114,000 | 2020 | |
| 52 | Nepal | 112,000 | 2020 | |
| 53 | Argentina | 103,000 | 2020 | |
| 54 | South Africa | 89,000 | 2020 | |
| 55 | Azerbaijan | 82,000 | 2020 | |
| 56 | Lebanon | 80,000 | 2020 | |
| 57 | Cuba | 76,000 | 2020 | |
| 58 | Canada | 72,000 | 2020 | |
| 59 | Kazakhstan | 71,000 | 2020 | |
| 60 | Dominican Republic | 71,000 | 2020 | |
| 61 | Bolivia | 71,000 | 2020 | |
| 62 | Uzbekistan | 68,000 | 2020 | |
| 63 | United Arab Emirates | 63,000 | 2020 | |
| 64 | Australia | 60,000 | 2020 | |
| 65 | Singapore | 59,000 | 2020 | |
| 66 | Turkmenistan | 57,000 | 2020 | |
| 67 | South Sudan | 53,000 | 2020 | |
| 68 | Portugal | 52,000 | 2020 | |
| 69 | Zimbabwe | 51,000 | 2020 | |
| 70 | Tunisia | 48,000 | 2020 | |
| 71 | Armenia | 47,000 | 2020 | |
| 72 | Oman | 47,000 | 2020 | |
| 73 | Uganda | 46,000 | 2020 | |
| 74 | Hungary | 46,000 | 2020 | |
| 75 | Chad | 45,000 | 2020 | |
| 76 | Guatemala | 43,000 | 2020 | |
| 77 | El Salvador | 42,000 | 2020 | |
| 78 | Ecuador | 42,000 | 2020 | |
| 79 | Mali | 41,000 | 2020 | |
| 80 | Netherlands | 41,000 | 2020 | |
| 81 | Yemen | 40,000 | 2020 | |
| 82 | Lithuania | 37,000 | 2020 | |
| 83 | Bulgaria | 37,000 | 2020 | |
| 84 | Rwanda | 35,000 | 2020 | |
| 85 | Cameroon | 34,000 | 2020 | |
| 86 | Serbia | 32,000 | 2020 | |
| 87 | Burundi | 31,000 | 2020 | |
| 88 | Paraguay | 29,000 | 2020 | |
| 89 | Tanzania | 28,000 | 2020 | |
| 90 | Panama | 28,000 | 2020 | |
| 91 | Côte d’Ivoire | 27,000 | 2020 | |
| 92 | Czechia | 27,000 | 2020 | |
| 93 | Georgia | 26,000 | 2020 | |
| 94 | Kuwait | 25,000 | 2020 | |
| 95 | Norway | 25,000 | 2020 | |
| 96 | Kenya | 24,000 | 2020 | |
| 97 | Belgium | 24,000 | 2020 | |
| 98 | Austria | 23,000 | 2020 | |
| 99 | Honduras | 23,000 | 2020 | |
| 100 | Qatar | 22,000 | 2020 | |
| 101 | Finland | 22,000 | 2020 | |
| 102 | Madagascar | 22,000 | 2020 | |
| 103 | Uruguay | 22,000 | 2020 | |
| 104 | Kyrgyzstan | 21,000 | 2020 | |
| 105 | Mauritania | 21,000 | 2020 | |
| 106 | Switzerland | 20,000 | 2020 | |
| 107 | Croatia | 20,000 | 2020 | |
| 108 | Bahrain | 19,000 | 2020 | |
| 109 | Senegal | 19,000 | 2020 | |
| 110 | Mongolia | 18,000 | 2020 | |
| 111 | Slovakia | 18,000 | 2020 | |
| 112 | Tajikistan | 17,000 | 2020 | |
| 113 | North Macedonia | 16,000 | 2020 | |
| 114 | Zambia | 16,000 | 2020 | |
| 115 | Ghana | 16,000 | 2020 | |
| 116 | Namibia | 16,000 | 2020 | |
| 117 | Malawi | 15,000 | 2020 | |
| 118 | Denmark | 15,000 | 2020 | |
| 119 | Sweden | 15,000 | 2020 | |
| 120 | Somalia | 14,000 | 2020 | |
| 121 | Cyprus | 13,000 | 2020 | |
| 122 | Djibouti | 13,000 | 2020 | |
| 123 | Guinea | 13,000 | 2020 | |
| 124 | Congo - Brazzaville | 12,000 | 2020 | |
| 125 | Benin | 12,000 | 2020 | |
| 126 | Montenegro | 12,000 | 2020 | |
| 127 | Nicaragua | 12,000 | 2020 | |
| 128 | Mozambique | 11,000 | 2020 | |
| 129 | Burkina Faso | 11,000 | 2020 | |
| 130 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 11,000 | 2020 | |
| 131 | Central African Republic | 10,000 | 2020 | |
| 132 | New Zealand | 10,000 | 2020 | |
| 133 | Togo | 10,000 | 2020 | |
| 134 | Niger | 10,000 | 2020 | |
| 135 | Costa Rica | 10,000 | 2020 | |
| 136 | Latvia | 9,000 | 2020 | |
| 137 | Botswana | 9,000 | 2020 | |
| 138 | Sierra Leone | 9,000 | 2020 | |
| 139 | Ireland | 9,000 | 2020 | |
| 140 | Albania | 8,000 | 2020 | |
| 141 | Brunei | 8,000 | 2020 | |
| 142 | Estonia | 7,000 | 2020 | |
| 143 | Gabon | 7,000 | 2020 | |
| 144 | Slovenia | 7,000 | 2020 | |
| 145 | Moldova | 6,000 | 2020 | |
| 146 | Bhutan | 6,000 | 2000 | |
| 147 | Jamaica | 6,000 | 2020 | |
| 148 | Maldives | 5,000 | 2000 | |
| 149 | Trinidad & Tobago | 5,000 | 2020 | |
| 150 | Papua New Guinea | 4,000 | 2020 | |
| 151 | Fiji | 4,000 | 2020 | |
| 152 | Guinea-Bissau | 4,000 | 2020 | |
| 153 | Gambia | 4,000 | 2020 | |
| 154 | Mauritius | 3,000 | 2020 | |
| 155 | Eswatini | 3,000 | 1999 | |
| 156 | Guyana | 3,000 | 2020 | |
| 157 | Lesotho | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 158 | Timor-Leste | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 159 | Liberia | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 160 | Malta | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 161 | Suriname | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 162 | Bahamas | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 163 | Belize | 2,000 | 2020 | |
| 164 | Equatorial Guinea | 1,000 | 2020 | |
| 165 | São Tomé & Príncipe | 1,000 | 1999 | |
| 166 | Luxembourg | 1,000 | 2020 | |
| 167 | Barbados | 1,000 | 2020 | |
| 168 | Cape Verde | 1,000 | 2020 | |
| 169 | Haiti | 1,000 | 2020 | |
| 170 | Seychelles | 0 | 2020 | |
| 171 | Libya | 0 | 2020 | |
| 172 | Iceland | 0 | 2020 | |
| 173 | Antigua & Barbuda | 0 | 2020 | |
| 174 | Palestinian Territories | 0 | 2020 |
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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.
- The chart shows the 5 most populous countries with figures; the table ranks every country by its own latest year.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time