Armed forces - Country rankings

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Armed forces personnel, 2020:

The average for 2020 based on 18 countries was 196722 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
Iran 650000 2 1985 - 2020
Iraq 459000 3 1985 - 2020
Algeria 326000 4 1985 - 2020
Saudi Arabia 282000 5 1985 - 2020
Syria 269000 6 1985 - 2020
Morocco 246000 7 1985 - 2020
Jordan 116000 8 1985 - 2020
Lebanon 80000 9 1985 - 2020
UA Emirates 63000 10 1985 - 2020
Tunisia 48000 11 1985 - 2020
Oman 47000 12 1985 - 2020
Yemen 40000 13 1985 - 2020
Kuwait 25000 14 1985 - 2020
Qatar 22000 15 1985 - 2020
Bahrain 19000 16 1985 - 2020
Djibouti 13000 17 1985 - 2020
Libya 0 18 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.

Selected articles from our guide:

Are trade deficits bad for the economy?

Sources of economic growth

Currency values and investment returns

How to write an economics research paper

All articles

1. Egypt
2. Iran
3. Iraq
4. Algeria
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Syria
7. Morocco
8. Jordan
9. Lebanon
10. UA Emirates
11. Tunisia
12. Oman
13. Yemen
14. Kuwait
15. Qatar
16. Bahrain
17. Djibouti
18. Libya
836000
650000
459000
326000
282000
269000
246000
116000
80000
63000
48000
47000
40000
25000
22000
19000
13000
0
0
209000
418000
627000
836000


This site uses cookies.
Learn more here


OK