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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.

Unit: % of population Period: 1816–2022 Source: Military Expenditure Database (SIPRI)
Source: SIPRI · About the indicator
Average: 0.383% Countries: 194

The ranking uses the latest available value for each country — the year is shown in the row. The table spans 1992 to 2022.

Armed forces as a share of the population, 1992–2022

Top-20 · % of population

Armed forces as a share of the population, 1992–202202.557.510EritreaEritrea: 8.859%8.859North KoreaNorth Korea: 4.862%4.862IsraelIsrael: 1.868%1.868UkraineUkraine: 1.676%1.676Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam: 1.538%1.538ArmeniaArmenia: 1.493%1.493GreeceGreece: 1.268%1.268Sri LankaSri Lanka: 1.117%1.117South KoreaSouth Korea: 1.072%1.072LebanonLebanon: 1.045%1.045TongaTonga: 0.952%0.952OmanOman: 0.909%0.909SingaporeSingapore: 0.903%0.903CyprusCyprus: 0.902%0.902JordanJordan: 0.897%0.897RussiaRussia: 0.817%0.817LithuaniaLithuania: 0.816%0.816United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates: 0.81%0.81Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia: 0.799%0.799SyriaSyria: 0.752%0.752
Armed forces as a share of the population — 1992–2022 Current breakdown Full series CSV XLSX JSON
# Year Subregion World rank
1 ER Eritrea 8.859 2022 1
2 KP North Korea 4.862 2022 2
3 IL Israel 1.868 2022 3
4 UA Ukraine 1.676 2022 4
5 BN Brunei Darussalam 1.538 2022 5
6 AM Armenia 1.493 2022 6
7 GR Greece 1.268 2022 7
8 LK Sri Lanka 1.117 2022 8
9 KR South Korea 1.072 2022 9
10 LB Lebanon 1.045 2022 10
11 TO Tonga 0.952 2022 11
12 OM Oman 0.909 2022 12
13 SG Singapore 0.903 2022 13
14 CY Cyprus 0.902 2022 14
15 JO Jordan 0.897 2022 15
16 RU Russia 0.817 2022 16
17 LT Lithuania 0.816 2022 17
18 AE United Arab Emirates 0.81 2022 18
19 SA Saudi Arabia 0.799 2022 19
20 SY Syria 0.752 2022 20
21 TW Taiwan 0.722 2022 21
22 KH Cambodia 0.721 2022 22
23 DJ Djibouti 0.704 2022 23
24 ST Sao Tome and Principe 0.694 1999 24
25 IR Iran 0.681 2022 25
26 MM Myanmar 0.662 2022 26
27 AZ Azerbaijan 0.622 2022 27
28 UY Uruguay 0.619 2022 28
29 QA Qatar 0.588 2022 29
30 GE Georgia 0.553 2022 30
31 BG Bulgaria 0.542 2022 31
32 MA Morocco 0.525 2022 32
33 BY Belarus 0.523 2022 33
34 BH Bahrain 0.522 2022 34
35 EE Estonia 0.519 2022 35
36 TM Turkmenistan 0.512 2022 36
37 TH Thailand 0.503 2022 37
38 BS Bahamas 0.503 2022 38
39 DO Dominican Republic 0.499 2022 39
40 BZ Belize 0.496 2022 40
41 CO Colombia 0.495 2022 41
42 VN Vietnam 0.484 2022 42
43 SS South Sudan 0.481 2022 43
44 NO Norway 0.458 2022 44
45 CU Cuba 0.443 2022 45
46 IQ Iraq 0.438 2022 46
47 VE Venezuela 0.436 2022 47
48 FJ Fiji 0.435 2022 48
49 HR Croatia 0.435 2022 49
50 MK North Macedonia 0.435 2022 50
51 RS Serbia 0.412 2022 51
52 TR Türkiye 0.408 2022 52
53 ET Ethiopia 0.401 2022 53
54 SV El Salvador 0.398 2022 54
55 US United States 0.394 2022 55
56 KW Kuwait 0.392 2022 56
57 EG Egypt 0.39 2022 57
58 LA Laos 0.384 2022 58
59 MT Malta 0.379 2022 59
60 RO Romania 0.376 2022 60
61 LV Latvia 0.372 2022 61
62 BW Botswana 0.369 2022 62
63 GY Guyana 0.365 2022 63
64 BB Barbados 0.355 2022 64
65 CL Chile 0.353 2022 65
66 NA Namibia 0.346 2022 66
67 BA Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.343 2022 67
68 FI Finland 0.341 2022 68
69 TT Trinidad and Tobago 0.334 2022 69
70 HU Hungary 0.33 2022 70
71 SK Slovakia 0.329 2022 71
72 MR Mauritania 0.328 2022 72
73 NP Nepal 0.326 2022 73
74 MY Malaysia 0.326 2022 74
75 ME Montenegro 0.325 2022 75
76 SR Suriname 0.321 2022 76
77 FR France 0.306 2022 77
78 SZ Eswatini 0.306 1999 78
79 DZ Algeria 0.306 2022 79
80 AO Angola 0.3 2022 80
81 TN Tunisia 0.297 2022 81
82 PL Poland 0.297 2022 82
83 MN Mongolia 0.295 2022 83
84 SI Slovenia 0.284 2022 84
85 AL Albania 0.283 2022 85
86 BT Bhutan 0.282 2000 86
87 BO Bolivia 0.282 2022 87
88 IT Italy 0.27 2022 88
89 PK Pakistan 0.268 2022 89
90 ES Spain 0.259 2022 90
91 PT Portugal 0.259 2022 91
92 DK Denmark 0.254 2022 92
93 AT Austria 0.254 2022 93
94 CZ Czechia 0.253 2022 94
95 AF Afghanistan 0.246 2022 95
96 PE Peru 0.242 2022 96
97 RW Rwanda 0.242 2022 97
98 EC Ecuador 0.23 2022 98
99 AU Australia 0.229 2022 99
100 CH Switzerland 0.227 2022 100
101 BI Burundi 0.225 2022 101
102 GB United Kingdom 0.22 2022 102
103 DE Germany 0.218 2022 103
104 JM Jamaica 0.211 2022 104
105 SD Sudan 0.211 2022 105
106 PY Paraguay 0.207 2022 106
107 GA Gabon 0.206 2022 107
108 JP Japan 0.198 2022 108
109 BE Belgium 0.198 2022 109
110 KZ Kazakhstan 0.195 2022 110
111 CV Cabo Verde 0.192 2022 111
112 GW Guinea-Bissau 0.19 2022 112
113 NL Netherlands 0.19 2022 113
114 ZW Zimbabwe 0.18 2022 114
115 KM Comoros 0.18 1992 115
116 TD Chad 0.179 2022 116
117 NI Nicaragua 0.178 2022 117
118 CF Central African Republic 0.177 2022 118
119 NZ New Zealand 0.175 2022 119
120 BR Brazil 0.175 2022 120
121 CA Canada 0.173 2022 121
122 MX Mexico 0.168 2022 122
123 CG Republic of the Congo 0.166 2022 123
124 MD Moldova 0.164 2022 124
125 AR Argentina 0.159 2022 125
126 KG Kyrgyzstan 0.158 2022 126
127 IE Ireland 0.157 2022 127
128 GM Gambia 0.152 2022 128
129 TL Timor-Leste 0.146 2022 129
130 HN Honduras 0.143 2022 130
131 SE Sweden 0.143 2022 131
132 TG Togo 0.143 2022 132
133 ID Indonesia 0.142 2022 133
134 CN China 0.142 2022 134
135 UZ Uzbekistan 0.137 2022 135
136 CD Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.131 2022 136
137 NE Niger 0.13 2022 137
138 PH Philippines 0.127 2022 138
139 ZA South Africa 0.119 2022 139
140 LY Libya 0.112 2015 140
141 SL Sierra Leone 0.109 2022 141
142 YE Yemen 0.105 2022 142
143 IN India 0.102 2022 143
144 GT Guatemala 0.101 2022 144
145 BD Bangladesh 0.096 2022 145
146 UG Uganda 0.095 2022 146
147 ML Mali 0.091 2022 147
148 CM Cameroon 0.09 2022 148
149 CI Côte d'Ivoire 0.089 2022 149
150 TJ Tajikistan 0.088 2022 150
151 LS Lesotho 0.087 2022 151
152 BJ Benin 0.087 2022 152
153 SN Senegal 0.079 2022 153
154 SO Somalia 0.079 2022 154
155 ZM Zambia 0.074 2022 155
156 GN Guinea 0.071 2022 156
157 NG Nigeria 0.064 2022 157
158 GQ Equatorial Guinea 0.055 2022 158
159 MW Malawi 0.053 2022 159
160 GH Ghana 0.048 2022 160
161 MG Madagascar 0.046 2022 161
162 KE Kenya 0.044 2022 162
163 TZ Tanzania 0.042 2022 163
164 PG Papua New Guinea 0.039 2022 164
165 LR Liberia 0.037 2022 165
166 MZ Mozambique 0.034 2022 166
167 BF Burkina Faso 0.031 2022 167
168 HT Haiti 0.009 2022 168
169 AD Andorra 0 2022 169
170 AG Antigua and Barbuda 0 2022 169
171 CR Costa Rica 0 2022 169
172 DM Dominica 0 2022 169
173 GD Grenada 0 2022 169
174 IS Iceland 0 2022 169
175 KI Kiribati 0 2022 169
176 LI Liechtenstein 0 2022 169
177 LU Luxembourg 0 2022 169
178 MV Maldives 0 2022 169
179 MH Marshall Islands 0 2022 169
180 MU Mauritius 0 2022 169
181 FM Micronesia 0 2022 169
182 MC Monaco 0 2022 169
183 NR Nauru 0 2022 169
184 PW Palau 0 2022 169
185 PA Panama 0 2022 169
186 KN Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 2022 169
187 LC Saint Lucia 0 2022 169
188 VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 2022 169
189 WS Samoa 0 2022 169
190 SM San Marino 0 2022 169
191 SC Seychelles 0 2022 169
192 SB Solomon Islands 0 2022 169
193 TV Tuvalu 0 2022 169
194 VU Vanuatu 0 2022 169
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Maximum 8.859%
Median 0.236%
Minimum 0%
World 0.259%

About the indicator

Military personnel on active duty as a percent of the entire population of the country. The indicator answers the question of how large the armed forces are relative to the size of the country — an army that is large in absolute numbers in a large country can come out smaller by this measure than the small army of a small state.

Important: A close indicator — the share of the labor force — answers a different question: what part of those able to work is occupied in the army instead of the economy. In countries with young populations the two diverge noticeably.

Updates
annually, April
Unit of measurement
% of population
Observation period
1816–2022
License
SIPRI terms of use
Dataset
Military Expenditure Database

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