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Armed forces personnel

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

Unit: people Period: 1985–2020 Source: Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI)
Source: SIPRI · About the indicator
Average: 156,552 people Countries: 174

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 personnel, 1999–2020

Top-20 · people

Armed forces personnel, 1999–202001M2M3M4MIndiaIndia: 3,068,000 people3.07MChinaChina: 2,535,000 people2.54MNorth KoreaNorth Korea: 1,469,000 people1.47MRussiaRussia: 1,454,000 people1.45MUnited StatesUnited States: 1,395,000 people1.4MPakistanPakistan: 943,000 people943,000EgyptEgypt: 836,000 people836,000BrazilBrazil: 762,000 people762,000IndonesiaIndonesia: 676,000 people676,000IranIran: 650,000 people650,000South KoreaSouth Korea: 569,000 people569,000VietnamVietnam: 522,000 people522,000TürkiyeTürkiye: 512,000 people512,000MyanmarMyanmar: 463,000 people463,000IraqIraq: 459,000 people459,000ThailandThailand: 455,000 people455,000ColombiaColombia: 428,000 people428,000VenezuelaVenezuela: 343,000 people343,000MexicoMexico: 341,000 people341,000ItalyItaly: 338,000 people338,000
Armed forces personnel — 1999–2020 Current breakdown Full series CSV XLSX JSON
# Year Subregion World rank
1 IN India 3.07M 2020 1
2 CN China 2.54M 2020 2
3 KP North Korea 1.47M 2020 3
4 RU Russia 1.45M 2020 4
5 US United States 1.4M 2020 5
6 PK Pakistan 943,000 2020 6
7 EG Egypt 836,000 2020 7
8 BR Brazil 762,000 2020 8
9 ID Indonesia 676,000 2020 9
10 IR Iran 650,000 2020 10
11 KR South Korea 569,000 2020 11
12 VN Vietnam 522,000 2020 12
13 TR Türkiye 512,000 2020 13
14 MM Myanmar 463,000 2020 14
15 IQ Iraq 459,000 2020 15
16 TH Thailand 455,000 2020 16
17 CO Colombia 428,000 2020 17
18 VE Venezuela 343,000 2020 18
19 MX Mexico 341,000 2020 19
20 IT Italy 338,000 2020 20
21 DZ Algeria 326,000 2020 21
22 LK Sri Lanka 317,000 2020 22
23 FR France 304,000 2020 23
24 UA Ukraine 298,000 2020 24
25 SA Saudi Arabia 282,000 2020 25
26 SY Syria 269,000 2020 26
27 JP Japan 261,000 2020 27
28 MA Morocco 246,000 2020 28
29 BD Bangladesh 227,000 2020 29
30 NG Nigeria 223,000 2020 30
31 ER Eritrea 202,000 2020 31
32 ES Spain 199,000 2020 32
33 KH Cambodia 191,000 2020 33
34 PL Poland 189,000 2020 34
35 DE Germany 183,000 2020 35
36 IL Israel 178,000 2020 36
37 AF Afghanistan 165,000 2020 37
38 BY Belarus 158,000 2020 38
39 PE Peru 158,000 2020 38
40 PH Philippines 157,000 2020 40
41 GB United Kingdom 153,000 2020 41
42 GR Greece 147,000 2020 42
43 SD Sudan 144,000 2020 43
44 ET Ethiopia 138,000 2020 44
45 MY Malaysia 136,000 2020 45
46 CD Democratic Republic of the Congo 134,000 2020 46
47 LA Laos 129,000 2020 47
48 RO Romania 128,000 2020 48
49 AO Angola 117,000 2020 49
50 JO Jordan 116,000 2020 50
51 CL Chile 114,000 2020 51
52 NP Nepal 112,000 2020 52
53 AR Argentina 103,000 2020 53
54 ZA South Africa 89,000 2020 54
55 AZ Azerbaijan 82,000 2020 55
56 LB Lebanon 80,000 2020 56
57 CU Cuba 76,000 2020 57
58 CA Canada 72,000 2020 58
59 BO Bolivia 71,000 2020 59
60 DO Dominican Republic 71,000 2020 59
61 KZ Kazakhstan 71,000 2020 59
62 UZ Uzbekistan 68,000 2020 62
63 AE United Arab Emirates 63,000 2020 63
64 AU Australia 60,000 2020 64
65 SG Singapore 59,000 2020 65
66 TM Turkmenistan 57,000 2020 66
67 SS South Sudan 53,000 2020 67
68 PT Portugal 52,000 2020 68
69 ZW Zimbabwe 51,000 2020 69
70 TN Tunisia 48,000 2020 70
71 AM Armenia 47,000 2020 71
72 OM Oman 47,000 2020 71
73 HU Hungary 46,000 2020 73
74 UG Uganda 46,000 2020 73
75 TD Chad 45,000 2020 75
76 GT Guatemala 43,000 2020 76
77 EC Ecuador 42,000 2020 77
78 SV El Salvador 42,000 2020 77
79 ML Mali 41,000 2020 79
80 NL Netherlands 41,000 2020 79
81 YE Yemen 40,000 2020 81
82 BG Bulgaria 37,000 2020 82
83 LT Lithuania 37,000 2020 82
84 RW Rwanda 35,000 2020 84
85 CM Cameroon 34,000 2020 85
86 RS Serbia 32,000 2020 86
87 BI Burundi 31,000 2020 87
88 PY Paraguay 29,000 2020 88
89 PA Panama 28,000 2020 89
90 TZ Tanzania 28,000 2020 89
91 CZ Czechia 27,000 2020 91
92 CI Côte d'Ivoire 27,000 2020 91
93 GE Georgia 26,000 2020 93
94 KW Kuwait 25,000 2020 94
95 NO Norway 25,000 2020 94
96 BE Belgium 24,000 2020 96
97 KE Kenya 24,000 2020 96
98 AT Austria 23,000 2020 98
99 HN Honduras 23,000 2020 98
100 FI Finland 22,000 2020 100
101 MG Madagascar 22,000 2020 100
102 QA Qatar 22,000 2020 100
103 UY Uruguay 22,000 2020 100
104 KG Kyrgyzstan 21,000 2020 104
105 MR Mauritania 21,000 2020 104
106 HR Croatia 20,000 2020 106
107 CH Switzerland 20,000 2020 106
108 BH Bahrain 19,000 2020 108
109 SN Senegal 19,000 2020 108
110 MN Mongolia 18,000 2020 110
111 SK Slovakia 18,000 2020 110
112 TJ Tajikistan 17,000 2020 112
113 GH Ghana 16,000 2020 113
114 NA Namibia 16,000 2020 113
115 MK North Macedonia 16,000 2020 113
116 ZM Zambia 16,000 2020 113
117 DK Denmark 15,000 2020 117
118 MW Malawi 15,000 2020 117
119 SE Sweden 15,000 2020 117
120 SO Somalia 14,000 2020 120
121 CY Cyprus 13,000 2020 121
122 DJ Djibouti 13,000 2020 121
123 GN Guinea 13,000 2020 121
124 BJ Benin 12,000 2020 124
125 ME Montenegro 12,000 2020 124
126 NI Nicaragua 12,000 2020 124
127 CG Republic of the Congo 12,000 2020 124
128 BA Bosnia and Herzegovina 11,000 2020 128
129 BF Burkina Faso 11,000 2020 128
130 MZ Mozambique 11,000 2020 128
131 CF Central African Republic 10,000 2020 131
132 CR Costa Rica 10,000 2020 131
133 NZ New Zealand 10,000 2020 131
134 NE Niger 10,000 2020 131
135 TG Togo 10,000 2020 131
136 BW Botswana 9,000 2020 136
137 IE Ireland 9,000 2020 136
138 LV Latvia 9,000 2020 136
139 SL Sierra Leone 9,000 2020 136
140 AL Albania 8,000 2020 140
141 BN Brunei Darussalam 8,000 2020 140
142 EE Estonia 7,000 2020 142
143 GA Gabon 7,000 2020 142
144 SI Slovenia 7,000 2020 142
145 BT Bhutan 6,000 2000 145
146 JM Jamaica 6,000 2020 145
147 MD Moldova 6,000 2020 145
148 MV Maldives 5,000 2000 148
149 TT Trinidad and Tobago 5,000 2020 148
150 FJ Fiji 4,000 2020 150
151 GM Gambia 4,000 2020 150
152 GW Guinea-Bissau 4,000 2020 150
153 PG Papua New Guinea 4,000 2020 150
154 SZ Eswatini 3,000 1999 154
155 GY Guyana 3,000 2020 154
156 MU Mauritius 3,000 2020 154
157 BS Bahamas 2,000 2020 157
158 BZ Belize 2,000 2020 157
159 LS Lesotho 2,000 2020 157
160 LR Liberia 2,000 2020 157
161 MT Malta 2,000 2020 157
162 SR Suriname 2,000 2020 157
163 TL Timor-Leste 2,000 2020 157
164 BB Barbados 1,000 2020 164
165 CV Cabo Verde 1,000 2020 164
166 GQ Equatorial Guinea 1,000 2020 164
167 HT Haiti 1,000 2020 164
168 LU Luxembourg 1,000 2020 164
169 ST Sao Tome and Principe 1,000 1999 164
170 AG Antigua and Barbuda 0 2020 170
171 IS Iceland 0 2020 170
172 LY Libya 0 2020 170
173 PS Palestine 0 2020 170
174 SC Seychelles 0 2020 170
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Maximum 3.07M people
Median 30,000 people
Minimum 0 people
World 27.41M people

About the indicator

The total number of active military personnel: all branches of the armed forces, as well as paramilitary forces if their training, structure and equipment allow them to be used in support of the regular forces. Reservists are not counted. Estimates of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Updates
annually, April
Unit of measurement
people
Observation period
1985–2020
License
SIPRI terms of use
Dataset
Military Expenditure Database

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