Armed forces - Country rankings

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Armed forces personnel, 2020:

The average for 2020 based on 19 countries was 139105 people. The highest value was in Brazil: 762000 people and the lowest value was in Haiti: 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
Brazil 762000 1 1985 - 2020
Colombia 428000 2 1985 - 2020
Venezuela 343000 3 1985 - 2020
Mexico 341000 4 1985 - 2020
Peru 158000 5 1985 - 2020
Chile 114000 6 1985 - 2020
Argentina 103000 7 1985 - 2020
Bolivia 71000 8 1985 - 2020
Domin. Rep. 71000 9 1985 - 2020
Guatemala 43000 10 1985 - 2020
Ecuador 42000 11 1985 - 2020
El Salvador 42000 12 1985 - 2020
Paraguay 29000 13 1985 - 2020
Panama 28000 14 1985 - 2020
Honduras 23000 15 1985 - 2020
Uruguay 22000 16 1985 - 2020
Nicaragua 12000 17 1985 - 2020
Costa Rica 10000 18 1985 - 2020
Haiti 1000 19 1985 - 2020



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. Brazil
2. Colombia
3. Venezuela
4. Mexico
5. Peru
6. Chile
7. Argentina
8. Bolivia
9. Domin. Rep.
10. Guatemala
11. Ecuador
12. El Salvador
13. Paraguay
14. Panama
15. Honduras
16. Uruguay
17. Nicaragua
18. Costa Rica
19. Haiti
762000
428000
343000
341000
158000
114000
103000
71000
71000
43000
42000
42000
29000
28000
23000
22000
12000
10000
1000
0
190500
381000
571500
762000


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