Data for 2011
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2011
2011, as U.S. Department of State’s 2021 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten
What share of each country's population serves in its armed forces — active-duty personnel on the payroll, including paramilitary forces able to fight, as estimated by the U.S. State Department's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers report. The report's final edition, published in 2021, covers 2009 to 2019.
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2011 covers 139 countries on 2 measures. Eritrea is highest, at 5.00; 2 countries share the lowest reading, 0.03. The middle country reads 0.32. Against 2010, 73 values changed (19 up, 54 down), the same countries are covered.
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population) · Data for 2011
HighestEritrea
5.00Lowest2 countries share it
0.03Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.
01Values only
The table
Every country and every column of Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2011, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 139 countries · select a heading to sort
EritreaERIEastern Africa | 5.00 | 160 | highly uncertain |
 North KoreaPRKEastern Asia | 4.70 | 1,160 | — |
 IsraelISRWestern Asia | 2.30 | 180 | — |
 IraqIRQWestern Asia | 2.20 | 660 | — |
 ArmeniaARMWestern Asia | 1.60 | 45 | — |
 BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia | 1.60 | 6 | — |
 JordanJORWestern Asia | 1.50 | 110 | — |
 OmanOMNWestern Asia | 1.40 | 45 | — |
 SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia | 1.40 | 70 | — |
 SyriaSYRWestern Asia | 1.40 | 310 | highly uncertain |
 CyprusCYPWestern Asia | 1.30 | 12 | — |
 South KoreaKOREastern Asia | 1.30 | 660 | — |
 DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa | 1.20 | 11 | — |
 LibyaLBYNorthern Africa | 1.20 | 75 | highly uncertain |
 MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia | 1.20 | 510 | extremely uncertain |
 BhutanBTNSouthern Asia | 1.10 | 8 | — |
 LebanonLBNWestern Asia | 1.10 | 55 | — |
 TaiwanTWNEastern Asia | 1.10 | 270 | — |
 Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 1.00 | 210 | highly uncertain |
 BahrainBHRWestern Asia | 0.96 | 12 | — |
 ColombiaCOLSouth America | 0.95 | 430 | — |
 Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia | 0.88 | 250 | — |
 CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia | 0.82 | 120 | — |
 AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia | 0.80 | 240 | — |
 GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia | 0.80 | 30 | — |
 KuwaitKWTWestern Asia | 0.74 | 25 | — |
 AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia | 0.73 | 65 | — |
 United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia | 0.72 | 65 | — |
 UruguayURYSouth America | 0.70 | 25 | — |
 IranIRNSouthern Asia | 0.68 | 510 | — |
 MoroccoMARNorthern Africa | 0.68 | 220 | — |
 RussiaRUSEastern Europe | 0.67 | 960 | — |
 CubaCUBCaribbean | 0.66 | 75 | — |
 AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa | 0.60 | 220 | — |
 QatarQATWestern Asia | 0.59 | 12 | — |
 VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 0.59 | 520 | — |
 NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa | 0.55 | 12 | — |
 EgyptEGYNorthern Africa | 0.52 | 440 | — |
 MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa | 0.52 | 19 | — |
 BelarusBLREastern Europe | 0.51 | 50 | highly uncertain |
 ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 0.51 | 340 | — |
 Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 0.49 | 50 | — |
 YemenYEMWestern Asia | 0.49 | 120 | highly uncertain |
 BotswanaBWASouthern Africa | 0.45 | 9 | — |
 LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia | 0.45 | 30 | — |
 TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa | 0.44 | 50 | — |
 Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa | 0.43 | 7 | — |
 NepalNPLSouthern Asia | 0.43 | 120 | — |
 VenezuelaVENSouth America | 0.43 | 120 | highly uncertain |
 AngolaAGOMiddle Africa | 0.42 | 100 | — |
 FinlandFINNorthern Europe | 0.42 | 25 | — |
 TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia | 0.42 | 20 | — |
 UkraineUKREastern Europe | 0.42 | 190 | — |
 MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 0.41 | 2 | — |
 GabonGABMiddle Africa | 0.40 | 7 | — |
 PakistanPAKSouthern Asia | 0.40 | 730 | — |
 ChileCHLSouth America | 0.39 | 65 | — |
 FijiFJIMelanesia | 0.39 | 3 | — |
 MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia | 0.39 | 110 | — |
 PeruPERSouth America | 0.39 | 110 | — |
 EcuadorECUSouth America | 0.38 | 60 | — |
 PanamaPANCentral America | 0.38 | 14 | — |
 SurinameSURSouth America | 0.38 | 2 | — |
 BelizeBLZCentral America | 0.37 | 1 | — |
 BoliviaBOLSouth America | 0.37 | 40 | — |
 KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 0.37 | 20 | — |
 SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 0.36 | 25 | — |
 AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 0.33 | 30 | — |
 BurundiBDIEastern Africa | 0.32 | 30 | — |
 Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean | 0.32 | 4 | — |
 UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia | 0.29 | 85 | — |
 EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa | 0.28 | 3 | — |
 KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia | 0.28 | 45 | — |
 Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa | 0.28 | 12 | — |
 BarbadosBRBCaribbean | 0.27 | 1 | — |
 RwandaRWAEastern Africa | 0.27 | 30 | — |
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 0.26 | 10 | — |
 MongoliaMNGEastern Asia | 0.26 | 7 | — |
 AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand | 0.25 | 55 | — |
 El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 0.25 | 15 | — |
 SudanSDNNorthern Africa | 0.25 | 110 | extremely uncertain |
 Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa | 0.24 | 1 | — |
 MexicoMEXCentral America | 0.23 | 260 | — |
 SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe | 0.23 | 18 | — |
 IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 0.22 | 10 | — |
 ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa | 0.22 | 30 | — |
 Costa RicaCRICentral America | 0.21 | 10 | — |
 Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa | 0.21 | 2 | — |
 MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 0.21 | 6 | — |
 New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand | 0.21 | 9 | — |
 SomaliaSOMEastern Africa | 0.21 | 25 | extremely uncertain |
 MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 0.20 | 3 | — |
 SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 0.20 | 19 | — |
 ArgentinaARGSouth America | 0.19 | 75 | — |
 ChadTCDMiddle Africa | 0.19 | 25 | extremely uncertain |
 JapanJPNEastern Asia | 0.19 | 240 | — |
 NicaraguaNICCentral America | 0.19 | 11 | — |
 TajikistanTJKCentral Asia | 0.18 | 14 | — |
 BrazilBRASouth America | 0.17 | 340 | — |
 Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa | 0.16 | 7 | highly uncertain |
 DR CongoCODMiddle Africa | 0.16 | 110 | extremely uncertain |
 EthiopiaETHEastern Africa | 0.16 | 140 | — |
 GuyanaGUYSouth America | 0.16 | 1 | highly uncertain |
 ParaguayPRYSouth America | 0.16 | 10 | — |
 TogoTGOWestern Africa | 0.16 | 11 | — |
 ChinaCHNEastern Asia | 0.15 | 2,040 | — |
 IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia | 0.15 | 360 | — |
 Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa | 0.15 | 10 | — |
 UgandaUGAEastern Africa | 0.14 | 50 | — |
 Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia | 0.13 | 1 | — |
 CameroonCMRMiddle Africa | 0.12 | 25 | — |
 GambiaGMBWestern Africa | 0.12 | 2 | highly uncertain |
 GuineaGINWestern Africa | 0.12 | 13 | — |
 HondurasHNDCentral America | 0.12 | 10 | — |
 KosovoXKXSouthern Europe | 0.12 | 2 | — |
 PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 0.12 | 120 | — |
 South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 0.12 | 65 | — |
 BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia | 0.11 | 170 | — |
 GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 0.11 | 15 | — |
 IndiaINDSouthern Asia | 0.11 | 1,420 | — |
 JamaicaJAMCaribbean | 0.11 | 3 | — |
 ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 0.11 | 16 | — |
 LesothoLSOSouthern Africa | 0.10 | 2 | — |
 MadagascarMDGEastern Africa | 0.10 | 25 | — |
 SenegalSENWestern Africa | 0.09 | 11 | — |
 BeninBENWestern Africa | 0.08 | 7 | — |
 Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 0.08 | 18 | — |
 Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa | 0.07 | 11 | — |
 MaliMLIWestern Africa | 0.07 | 11 | — |
 KenyaKENEastern Africa | 0.06 | 25 | — |
 TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa | 0.06 | 25 | — |
 GhanaGHAWestern Africa | 0.05 | 12 | — |
 HaitiHTICaribbean | 0.05 | 5 | extremely uncertain |
 LiberiaLBRWestern Africa | 0.05 | 2 | — |
 MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa | 0.05 | 13 | highly uncertain |
 NigeriaNGAWestern Africa | 0.05 | 80 | — |
 Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia | 0.04 | 3 | — |
 MalawiMWIEastern Africa | 0.03 | 5 | — |
 NigerNERWestern Africa | 0.03 | 6 | highly uncertain |
02In 2011
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- Eritrea5.00
- North Korea4.70
- Israel2.30
- Iraq2.20
- Armeniashared1.60
Lowest
- Nigershared0.03
- Malawishared0.03
- Papua New Guinea0.04
- Nigeriashared0.05
- Mozambiqueshared0.05
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 0.32. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
Armed forces personnel (thousands)
Highest
China2,040Lowest5 share it
Middle country: 25
032010 → 2011
Since 2010
- +0 / −0countries joined / left
- 73values changed, of 139 in both
- 19 · 54rose · fell
- 66unchanged
Rose most
- Afghanistan0.66 → 0.80+0.14
- Iraq2.10 → 2.20+0.10
- Barbados0.25 → 0.27+0.02
- Algeria0.58 → 0.60+0.02
- Central African Republic0.15 → 0.16+0.01
04Caveats
Read before you use
One year of the 2021 release
Every year in this series comes from U.S. Department of State’s 2021 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 2011.
68 distinct values among 139
Values are stored exactly as published, to 2 decimals. 7 countries share 0.12. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
121 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
Some readings carry a flag
U.S. Department of State marks readings it considers estimates or provisional. The flags in this file: highly uncertain, extremely uncertain.
05The files
Download and cite
- .csv
For a spreadsheet or code
139 rows · 4.9 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download armed-forces-personnel-2011-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
U.S. Department of State’s own file, on its own site.
WMEAT-2021-Table-I-Military-Expenditures-and-Armed-Forces-Personnel-2009-2019.xlsx
What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full
Licence: Public domain (U.S. Government work) · what it allows, in plain words
Cite this edition
U.S. Department of State (2011). Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2011 [data set], describing 2011. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/armed-forces-personnel/2011
0611 held
Other years
‹ The year before
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2010139 countries
The year after ›
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2012140 countries
All of them
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population): every year11 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country