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Armed forces personnel since 1816 — all countries

Armed forces personnel since 1816 — South Korea

Armed forces personnel since 1816 in South Korea in 2022 — 555,000 people. Ranked 9 in the world out of 189. Since 1949, the indicator has risen by 704.3%.

2022 555,000 people +0% vs 2021
World rank 9of 189
Period maximum 750,000 people1991
Period minimum 69,000 people1949

Trend over time

1949–2022 · people

Armed forces personnel since 1816 — South Korea, 1949–20220200,000400,000600,000800,00019491957196519731981198919972005201320211949: 69,000 people1951: 196,000 people1953: 504,000 people1955: 730,000 people1957: 650,000 people1959: 650,000 people1961: 570,000 people1963: 627,000 people1965: 604,000 people1967: 612,000 people1969: 620,000 people1971: 638,000 people1973: 634,000 people1975: 630,000 people1977: 600,000 people1979: 638,000 people1981: 606,000 people1983: 602,000 people1985: 600,000 people1987: 604,000 people1989: 647,000 people1991: 750,000 people1993: 750,000 people1995: 750,000 people1997: 670,000 people1999: 665,000 people2001: 683,000 people2003: 686,000 people2005: 688,000 people2007: 687,000 people2009: 687,000 people2011: 655,000 people2013: 655,000 people2015: 655,000 people2017: 630,000 people2019: 625,000 people2021: 555,000 people2022: 555,000 people
Change over the period: +486,000 (+704.35%) Average annual rate: 2.9 %

Comparison, 2022

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: South Korea

South Korea 555,000 people
World computed 20.79M people
East Asia & Pacific computed 6.44M people
Eastern Asia computed 4.3M people
High-income countries computed 5.91M people
Armed forces personnel since 1816 — South Korea, by year South Korea All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2022 555,000 +0 +0%
2021 555,000 −44,000 −7.35%
2020 599,000 −26,000 −4.16%
2019 625,000 +0 +0%
2018 625,000 −5,000 −0.79%
2017 630,000 +2,000 +0.32%
2016 628,000 −27,000 −4.12%
2015 655,000 +0 +0%
2014 655,000 +0 +0%
2013 655,000 +0 +0%
2012 655,000 +0 +0%
2011 655,000 −32,000 −4.66%
2010 687,000 +0 +0%
2009 687,000 +0 +0%
2008 687,000 +0 +0%
2007 687,000 −1,000 −0.15%
2006 688,000 +0 +0%
2005 688,000 +1,000 +0.15%
2004 687,000 +1,000 +0.15%
2003 686,000 +0 +0%
2002 686,000 +3,000 +0.44%
2001 683,000 +0 +0%
2000 683,000 +18,000 +2.71%
1999 665,000 −5,000 −0.75%
1998 670,000 +0 +0%
1997 670,000 +0 +0%
1996 670,000 −80,000 −10.67%
1995 750,000 +0 +0%
1994 750,000 +0 +0%
1993 750,000 +0 +0%
1992 750,000 +0 +0%
1991 750,000 +100,000 +15.38%
1990 650,000 +3,000 +0.46%
1989 647,000 +21,000 +3.35%
1988 626,000 +22,000 +3.64%
1987 604,000 +0 +0%
1986 604,000 +4,000 +0.67%
1985 600,000 −2,000 −0.33%
1984 602,000 +0 +0%
1983 602,000 +1,000 +0.17%
1982 601,000 −5,000 −0.83%
1981 606,000 +6,000 +1%
1980 600,000 −38,000 −5.96%
1979 638,000 +38,000 +6.33%
1978 600,000 +0 +0%
1977 600,000 −10,000 −1.64%
1976 610,000 −20,000 −3.17%
1975 630,000 −4,000 −0.63%
1974 634,000 +0 +0%
1973 634,000 −1,000 −0.16%
1972 635,000 −3,000 −0.47%
1971 638,000 −7,000 −1.09%
1970 645,000 +25,000 +4.03%
1969 620,000 +0 +0%
1968 620,000 +8,000 +1.31%
1967 612,000 +40,000 +6.99%
1966 572,000 −32,000 −5.3%
1965 604,000 +4,000 +0.67%
1964 600,000 −27,000 −4.31%
1963 627,000 +57,000 +10%
1962 570,000 +0 +0%
1961 570,000 −80,000 −12.31%
1960 650,000 +0 +0%
1959 650,000 +0 +0%
1958 650,000 +0 +0%
1957 650,000 +0 +0%
1956 650,000 −80,000 −10.96%
1955 730,000 +100,000 +15.87%
1954 630,000 +126,000 +25%
1953 504,000 +169,000 +50.45%
1952 335,000 +139,000 +70.92%
1951 196,000 +87,000 +79.82%
1950 109,000 +40,000 +57.97%
1949 69,000 — —

Eastern Asia, 2022

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

CN China 2.04M KP North Korea 1.28M KR South Korea 555,000 JP Japan 247,000 TW Taiwan 169,000 MN Mongolia 10,000
Full table for all countries

About the indicator

The number of military personnel on active duty. The series was assembled by the Correlates of War project and continued with data of the International Institute for Strategic Studies; unlike the World Bank series, which begins in 1985, it reaches 1816 and makes military buildup over two centuries visible — including both world wars.

Important: Over two hundred years borders and the composition of countries changed, so the series before the middle of the 20th century refers to the territory of the time: comparing adjacent years is reliable, comparing 1830 with 2020 only loosely so.

Source: Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI), license SIPRI terms of use.

Other indicators for South Korea

Defense Armed forces personnel

The number of active-duty military personnel and paramilitary forces.

South Korea by year Defense Armed forces as a share of the population

What share of a country’s population military personnel make up — a measure of how militarized a society is.

South Korea by year Defense Military expenditure in dollars

The absolute volume of defense spending in current US dollars.

South Korea by year Defense Military expenditure (% of GDP)

The share of GDP a country spends on defense.

South Korea by year Defense Military expenditure share of the budget

What part of government spending goes to defense.

South Korea by year Defense Arms exports

Transfers of major conventional weapons abroad, in SIPRI trend-indicator values (TIV).

South Korea by year
All indicators for South Korea