Armed forces - Country rankings

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Armed forces personnel, 2020:

The average for 2020 based on 27 countries was 70852 people. The highest value was in Italy: 338000 people and the lowest value was in Luxembourg: 1000 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
Italy 338000 1 1985 - 2020
France 304000 2 1985 - 2020
Spain 199000 3 1985 - 2020
Poland 189000 4 1985 - 2020
Germany 183000 5 1985 - 2020
Greece 147000 6 1985 - 2020
Romania 128000 7 1985 - 2020
Portugal 52000 8 1985 - 2020
Hungary 46000 9 1985 - 2020
Netherlands 41000 10 1985 - 2020
Bulgaria 37000 11 1985 - 2020
Lithuania 37000 12 1992 - 2020
Czechia 27000 13 1993 - 2020
Belgium 24000 14 1985 - 2020
Austria 23000 15 1985 - 2020
Finland 22000 16 1985 - 2020
Croatia 20000 17 1992 - 2020
Slovakia 18000 18 1993 - 2020
Denmark 15000 19 1985 - 2020
Sweden 15000 20 1985 - 2020
Cyprus 13000 21 1985 - 2020
Ireland 9000 22 1985 - 2020
Latvia 9000 23 1992 - 2020
Estonia 7000 24 1992 - 2020
Slovenia 7000 25 1992 - 2020
Malta 2000 26 1985 - 2020
Luxembourg 1000 27 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. Italy
2. France
3. Spain
4. Poland
5. Germany
6. Greece
7. Romania
8. Portugal
9. Hungary
10. Netherlands
11. Bulgaria
12. Lithuania
13. Czechia
14. Belgium
15. Austria
16. Finland
17. Croatia
18. Slovakia
19. Denmark
20. Sweden
21. Cyprus
22. Ireland
23. Latvia
24. Estonia
25. Slovenia
26. Malta
27. Luxembourg
338000
304000
199000
189000
183000
147000
128000
52000
46000
41000
37000
37000
27000
24000
23000
22000
20000
18000
15000
15000
13000
9000
9000
7000
7000
2000
1000
0
84500
169000
253500
338000


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