Armed forces - Country rankings

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Armed forces personnel, 2020:

The average for 2020 based on 50 countries was 62960 people. The highest value was in Egypt: 836000 people and the lowest value was in Libya: 0 people. The indicator is available from 1985 to 2020. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: people; Source: International Institute for Strategic Studies
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Armed forces, 2020 Global rank Available data
Egypt 836000 1 1985 - 2020
Algeria 326000 2 1985 - 2020
Morocco 246000 3 1985 - 2020
Nigeria 223000 4 1985 - 2020
Eritrea 202000 5 1993 - 2020
Sudan 144000 6 1985 - 2020
Ethiopia 138000 7 1985 - 2020
DR Congo 134000 8 1985 - 2020
Angola 117000 9 1985 - 2020
South Africa 89000 10 1985 - 2020
Zimbabwe 51000 11 1985 - 2020
Tunisia 48000 12 1985 - 2020
Uganda 46000 13 1985 - 2020
Chad 45000 14 1985 - 2020
Mali 41000 15 1985 - 2020
Rwanda 35000 16 1985 - 2020
Cameroon 34000 17 1985 - 2020
Burundi 31000 18 1985 - 2020
Tanzania 28000 19 1985 - 2020
Ivory Coast 27000 20 1989 - 2020
Kenya 24000 21 1985 - 2020
Madagascar 22000 22 1985 - 2020
Mauritania 21000 23 1985 - 2020
Senegal 19000 24 1985 - 2020
Ghana 16000 25 1985 - 2020
Namibia 16000 26 1991 - 2020
Zambia 16000 27 1985 - 2020
Malawi 15000 28 1985 - 2020
Somalia 14000 29 1985 - 2020
Djibouti 13000 30 1985 - 2020
Guinea 13000 31 1985 - 2020
Benin 12000 32 1985 - 2020
R. of Congo 12000 33 1985 - 2020
Burkina Faso 11000 34 1985 - 2020
Mozambique 11000 35 1985 - 2020
C.A. Republic 10000 36 1985 - 2020
Niger 10000 37 1985 - 2020
Togo 10000 38 1985 - 2020
Botswana 9000 39 1985 - 2020
Sierra Leone 9000 40 1985 - 2020
Gabon 7000 41 1985 - 2020
Gambia 4000 42 1985 - 2020
G.-Bissau 4000 43 1985 - 2020
Mauritius 3000 44 1985 - 2020
Lesotho 2000 45 1985 - 2020
Liberia 2000 46 1985 - 2020
Cape Verde 1000 47 1985 - 2020
Eq. Guinea 1000 48 1985 - 2020
Libya 0 49 1985 - 2020
Seychelles 0 50 1985 - 2020


New - World map: Armed forces




Definition: Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.

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1. Egypt
2. Algeria
3. Morocco
4. Nigeria
5. Eritrea
6. Sudan
7. Ethiopia
8. DR Congo
9. Angola
10. South Africa
11. Zimbabwe
12. Tunisia
13. Uganda
14. Chad
15. Mali
16. Rwanda
17. Cameroon
18. Burundi
19. Tanzania
20. Ivory Coast
21. Kenya
22. Madagascar
23. Mauritania
24. Senegal
25. Ghana
26. Namibia
27. Zambia
28. Malawi
29. Somalia
30. Djibouti
31. Guinea
32. Benin
33. R. of Congo
34. Burkina Faso
35. Mozambique
36. C.A. Republic
37. Niger
38. Togo
39. Botswana
40. Sierra Leone
41. Gabon
42. Gambia
43. G.-Bissau
44. Mauritius
45. Lesotho
46. Liberia
47. Cape Verde
48. Eq. Guinea
49. Libya
50. Seychelles
836000
326000
246000
223000
202000
144000
138000
134000
117000
89000
51000
48000
46000
45000
41000
35000
34000
31000
28000
27000
24000
22000
21000
19000
16000
16000
16000
15000
14000
13000
13000
12000
12000
11000
11000
10000
10000
10000
9000
9000
7000
4000
4000
3000
2000
2000
1000
1000
0
0
0
209000
418000
627000
836000


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