Armed forces - Country rankings

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Armed forces personnel, 2020:

The average for 2020 based on 44 countries was 38159 people. The highest value was in Nigeria: 223000 people and the lowest value was in the Seychelles: 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
Nigeria 223000 1 1985 - 2020
Eritrea 202000 2 1993 - 2020
Sudan 144000 3 1985 - 2020
Ethiopia 138000 4 1985 - 2020
DR Congo 134000 5 1985 - 2020
Angola 117000 6 1985 - 2020
South Africa 89000 7 1985 - 2020
Zimbabwe 51000 8 1985 - 2020
Uganda 46000 9 1985 - 2020
Chad 45000 10 1985 - 2020
Mali 41000 11 1985 - 2020
Rwanda 35000 12 1985 - 2020
Cameroon 34000 13 1985 - 2020
Burundi 31000 14 1985 - 2020
Tanzania 28000 15 1985 - 2020
Ivory Coast 27000 16 1989 - 2020
Kenya 24000 17 1985 - 2020
Madagascar 22000 18 1985 - 2020
Mauritania 21000 19 1985 - 2020
Senegal 19000 20 1985 - 2020
Ghana 16000 21 1985 - 2020
Namibia 16000 22 1991 - 2020
Zambia 16000 23 1985 - 2020
Malawi 15000 24 1985 - 2020
Somalia 14000 25 1985 - 2020
Guinea 13000 26 1985 - 2020
Benin 12000 27 1985 - 2020
R. of Congo 12000 28 1985 - 2020
Burkina Faso 11000 29 1985 - 2020
Mozambique 11000 30 1985 - 2020
C.A. Republic 10000 31 1985 - 2020
Niger 10000 32 1985 - 2020
Togo 10000 33 1985 - 2020
Botswana 9000 34 1985 - 2020
Sierra Leone 9000 35 1985 - 2020
Gabon 7000 36 1985 - 2020
Gambia 4000 37 1985 - 2020
G.-Bissau 4000 38 1985 - 2020
Mauritius 3000 39 1985 - 2020
Lesotho 2000 40 1985 - 2020
Liberia 2000 41 1985 - 2020
Cape Verde 1000 42 1985 - 2020
Eq. Guinea 1000 43 1985 - 2020
Seychelles 0 44 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. Nigeria
2. Eritrea
3. Sudan
4. Ethiopia
5. DR Congo
6. Angola
7. South Africa
8. Zimbabwe
9. Uganda
10. Chad
11. Mali
12. Rwanda
13. Cameroon
14. Burundi
15. Tanzania
16. Ivory Coast
17. Kenya
18. Madagascar
19. Mauritania
20. Senegal
21. Ghana
22. Namibia
23. Zambia
24. Malawi
25. Somalia
26. Guinea
27. Benin
28. R. of Congo
29. Burkina Faso
30. Mozambique
31. C.A. Republic
32. Niger
33. Togo
34. Botswana
35. Sierra Leone
36. Gabon
37. Gambia
38. G.-Bissau
39. Mauritius
40. Lesotho
41. Liberia
42. Cape Verde
43. Eq. Guinea
44. Seychelles
223000
202000
144000
138000
134000
117000
89000
51000
46000
45000
41000
35000
34000
31000
28000
27000
24000
22000
21000
19000
16000
16000
16000
15000
14000
13000
12000
12000
11000
11000
10000
10000
10000
9000
9000
7000
4000
4000
3000
2000
2000
1000
1000
0
0
55750
111500
167250
223000


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