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Armed forces as a share of the labor force

What part of a country’s labor force serves in the army instead of working in the economy.

Unit: % of labor force Period: 1990–2020 Source: Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI)
Source: SIPRI · About the indicator
Average: 1.31% Countries: 172

The ranking uses the latest available value for each country — the year is shown in the row. The table spans 1999 to 2020.

Armed forces as a share of the labor force, 1999–2020

Top-20 · % of labor force

Armed forces as a share of the labor force, 1999–2020051015EritreaEritrea: 13.29%13.29North KoreaNorth Korea: 8.62%8.62SyriaSyria: 5.44%5.44MaldivesMaldives: 5.41%5.41DjiboutiDjibouti: 5.4%5.4Sao Tome and PrincipeSao Tome and Principe: 5.1%5.1MontenegroMontenegro: 4.66%4.66IraqIraq: 4.4%4.4IsraelIsrael: 4.23%4.23LebanonLebanon: 4.1%4.1LaosLaos: 4.08%4.08JordanJordan: 3.98%3.98Sri LankaSri Lanka: 3.74%3.74Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam: 3.57%3.57VenezuelaVenezuela: 3.47%3.47ArmeniaArmenia: 3.25%3.25GreeceGreece: 3.2%3.2BelarusBelarus: 3.17%3.17TurkmenistanTurkmenistan: 2.87%2.87AlgeriaAlgeria: 2.81%2.81
Armed forces as a share of the labor force — 1999–2020 Current breakdown Full series CSV XLSX JSON
# Year Subregion World rank
1 ER Eritrea 13.29 2020 1
2 KP North Korea 8.62 2020 2
3 SY Syria 5.44 2020 3
4 MV Maldives 5.41 2000 4
5 DJ Djibouti 5.4 2020 5
6 ST Sao Tome and Principe 5.1 1999 6
7 ME Montenegro 4.66 2020 7
8 IQ Iraq 4.4 2020 8
9 IL Israel 4.23 2020 9
10 LB Lebanon 4.1 2020 10
11 LA Laos 4.08 2020 11
12 JO Jordan 3.98 2020 12
13 LK Sri Lanka 3.74 2020 13
14 BN Brunei Darussalam 3.57 2020 14
15 VE Venezuela 3.47 2020 15
16 AM Armenia 3.25 2020 16
17 GR Greece 3.2 2020 17
18 BY Belarus 3.17 2020 18
19 TM Turkmenistan 2.87 2020 19
20 DZ Algeria 2.81 2020 20
21 EG Egypt 2.76 2020 21
22 LT Lithuania 2.48 2020 22
23 IR Iran 2.35 2020 23
24 BT Bhutan 2.34 2000 24
25 BH Bahrain 2.33 2020 25
26 OM Oman 2.12 2020 26
27 MA Morocco 2.07 2020 27
28 KH Cambodia 2.01 2020 28
29 KR South Korea 2.01 2020 29
30 MR Mauritania 2 2020 30
31 MK North Macedonia 2 2020 31
32 RU Russia 1.98 2020 32
33 MM Myanmar 1.94 2020 33
34 SA Saudi Arabia 1.92 2020 34
35 AF Afghanistan 1.82 2020 35
36 CY Cyprus 1.81 2020 36
37 SG Singapore 1.72 2020 37
38 CO Colombia 1.7 2020 38
39 NA Namibia 1.67 2020 39
40 SV El Salvador 1.62 2020 40
41 TR Türkiye 1.61 2020 41
42 AZ Azerbaijan 1.58 2020 42
43 CU Cuba 1.54 2020 43
44 RO Romania 1.52 2020 44
45 DO Dominican Republic 1.48 2020 45
46 UA Ukraine 1.43 2020 46
47 NP Nepal 1.4 2020 47
48 GE Georgia 1.39 2020 48
49 IT Italy 1.35 2020 49
50 SD Sudan 1.34 2020 50
51 PA Panama 1.33 2020 51
52 UY Uruguay 1.32 2020 52
53 BZ Belize 1.32 2020 53
54 CL Chile 1.28 2020 54
55 MN Mongolia 1.27 2020 55
56 PK Pakistan 1.25 2020 56
57 BO Bolivia 1.21 2020 57
58 BG Bulgaria 1.18 2020 58
59 TN Tunisia 1.18 2020 59
60 SS South Sudan 1.17 2020 60
61 HR Croatia 1.17 2020 61
62 TH Thailand 1.13 2020 62
63 FJ Fiji 1.13 2020 63
64 QA Qatar 1.07 2020 64
65 PL Poland 1.04 2020 65
66 GY Guyana 1.04 2020 66
67 KW Kuwait 1.03 2020 67
68 AE United Arab Emirates 1.02 2020 68
69 RS Serbia 1.01 2020 69
70 PT Portugal 1.01 2020 70
71 FR France 1 2020 71
72 EE Estonia 1 2020 72
73 GA Gabon 1 2020 73
74 SZ Eswatini 0.98 1999 74
75 HU Hungary 0.95 2020 75
76 VN Vietnam 0.95 2020 76
77 PE Peru 0.94 2020 77
78 BW Botswana 0.92 2020 78
79 BS Bahamas 0.92 2020 79
80 LV Latvia 0.92 2020 80
81 PY Paraguay 0.88 2020 81
82 ZW Zimbabwe 0.88 2020 82
83 ES Spain 0.87 2020 83
84 AO Angola 0.87 2020 84
85 NO Norway 0.85 2020 85
86 SR Suriname 0.85 2020 86
87 TD Chad 0.85 2020 87
88 US United States 0.84 2020 88
89 BA Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.81 2020 89
90 KG Kyrgyzstan 0.81 2020 90
91 MY Malaysia 0.81 2020 91
92 FI Finland 0.8 2020 92
93 TT Trinidad and Tobago 0.77 2020 93
94 BR Brazil 0.76 2020 94
95 TJ Tajikistan 0.75 2020 95
96 KZ Kazakhstan 0.74 2020 96
97 MT Malta 0.73 2020 97
98 RW Rwanda 0.7 2020 98
99 BB Barbados 0.69 2020 99
100 SI Slovenia 0.68 2020 100
101 SK Slovakia 0.67 2020 101
102 AL Albania 0.65 2020 102
103 MX Mexico 0.64 2020 103
104 GT Guatemala 0.64 2020 104
105 BI Burundi 0.59 2020 105
106 YE Yemen 0.58 2020 106
107 IN India 0.58 2020 107
108 GM Gambia 0.58 2020 108
109 HN Honduras 0.56 2020 109
110 CG Republic of the Congo 0.55 2020 110
111 ML Mali 0.54 2020 111
112 EC Ecuador 0.54 2020 112
113 CF Central African Republic 0.54 2020 113
114 GW Guinea-Bissau 0.53 2020 114
115 AR Argentina 0.53 2020 115
116 UZ Uzbekistan 0.52 2020 116
117 MU Mauritius 0.51 2020 117
118 CV Cabo Verde 0.51 2020 118
119 CZ Czechia 0.51 2020 119
120 AT Austria 0.5 2020 120
121 DK Denmark 0.49 2020 121
122 ID Indonesia 0.49 2020 122
123 SO Somalia 0.47 2020 123
124 BE Belgium 0.47 2020 124
125 GB United Kingdom 0.45 2020 125
126 AU Australia 0.44 2020 126
127 DE Germany 0.42 2020 127
128 NL Netherlands 0.42 2020 128
129 CR Costa Rica 0.41 2020 129
130 JM Jamaica 0.41 2020 130
131 MD Moldova 0.41 2020 131
132 NI Nicaragua 0.41 2020 132
133 CD Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.41 2020 133
134 CH Switzerland 0.4 2020 134
135 ZA South Africa 0.4 2020 135
136 JP Japan 0.38 2020 136
137 TG Togo 0.38 2020 137
138 SN Senegal 0.37 2020 138
139 PH Philippines 0.37 2020 139
140 IE Ireland 0.37 2020 140
141 TL Timor-Leste 0.36 2020 141
142 SL Sierra Leone 0.35 2020 142
143 CA Canada 0.35 2020 143
144 NZ New Zealand 0.35 2020 144
145 CM Cameroon 0.34 2020 145
146 CN China 0.33 2020 146
147 BD Bangladesh 0.32 2020 147
148 GN Guinea 0.32 2020 148
149 LU Luxembourg 0.31 2020 149
150 ET Ethiopia 0.28 2020 150
151 SE Sweden 0.27 2020 151
152 CI Côte d'Ivoire 0.25 2020 152
153 LS Lesotho 0.24 2020 153
154 ZM Zambia 0.24 2020 154
155 UG Uganda 0.24 2020 155
156 NG Nigeria 0.23 2020 156
157 BJ Benin 0.21 2020 157
158 MW Malawi 0.2 2020 158
159 GQ Equatorial Guinea 0.16 2020 159
160 MG Madagascar 0.15 2020 160
161 GH Ghana 0.13 2020 161
162 PG Papua New Guinea 0.12 2020 162
163 BF Burkina Faso 0.12 2020 163
164 KE Kenya 0.11 2020 164
165 NE Niger 0.11 2020 165
166 TZ Tanzania 0.1 2020 166
167 LR Liberia 0.09 2020 167
168 MZ Mozambique 0.08 2020 168
169 HT Haiti 0.02 2020 169
170 IS Iceland 0 2020 170
171 LY Libya 0 2020 170
172 PS Palestine 0 2020 170
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Maximum 13.29%
Median 0.85%
Minimum 0%
World 0.79%

About the indicator

Military personnel on active duty as a percent of the total labor force of the country. Data of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and SIPRI through the World Bank database. The indicator measures not military power but the economic cost of an army in human resources: what share of those able to work is occupied by service rather than by production.

Important: It differs from the share of population in its denominator: where the share of children and the elderly is large, the same army gives a higher value by this indicator.

Updates
annually, April
Unit of measurement
% of labor force
Observation period
1990–2020
License
SIPRI terms of use
Dataset
Military Expenditure Database

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