Data for 2016
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2016
2016, 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), 2016 covers 140 countries on 2 measures. Eritrea is highest, at 4.80; Malawi is lowest, at 0.03. The middle country reads 0.28. Against 2015, 64 values changed (9 up, 55 down), the same countries are covered.
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population) · Data for 2016
HighestEritrea
4.80
LowestMalawi
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), 2016, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 140 countries · select a heading to sort
EritreaERIEastern Africa | 4.80 | 160 | highly uncertain |
 North KoreaPRKEastern Asia | 4.60 | 1,170 | — |
 IsraelISRWestern Asia | 2.10 | 180 | — |
 South SudanSSDEastern Africa | 1.80 | 190 | highly uncertain |
 ArmeniaARMWestern Asia | 1.60 | 45 | — |
 BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia | 1.50 | 6 | — |
 CyprusCYPWestern Asia | 1.40 | 12 | — |
 SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia | 1.30 | 70 | — |
 South KoreaKOREastern Asia | 1.30 | 640 | — |
 JordanJORWestern Asia | 1.20 | 120 | — |
 BhutanBTNSouthern Asia | 1.10 | 8 | — |
 DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa | 1.10 | 11 | — |
 MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia | 1.10 | 510 | extremely uncertain |
 Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 1.10 | 230 | highly uncertain |
 OmanOMNWestern Asia | 0.98 | 45 | — |
 ColombiaCOLSouth America | 0.96 | 460 | — |
 TaiwanTWNEastern Asia | 0.94 | 220 | — |
 BahrainBHRWestern Asia | 0.86 | 12 | — |
 LebanonLBNWestern Asia | 0.86 | 60 | — |
 AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia | 0.81 | 290 | — |
 Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia | 0.80 | 260 | — |
 SyriaSYRWestern Asia | 0.79 | 140 | highly uncertain |
 LibyaLBYNorthern Africa | 0.77 | 50 | extremely uncertain |
 CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia | 0.76 | 120 | — |
 AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia | 0.69 | 65 | — |
 United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia | 0.69 | 65 | — |
 UruguayURYSouth America | 0.67 | 25 | — |
 CubaCUBCaribbean | 0.65 | 75 | — |
 GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia | 0.65 | 25 | — |
 IranIRNSouthern Asia | 0.63 | 500 | — |
 MoroccoMARNorthern Africa | 0.63 | 220 | — |
 AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa | 0.62 | 250 | — |
 RussiaRUSEastern Europe | 0.60 | 860 | — |
 KuwaitKWTWestern Asia | 0.59 | 25 | — |
 IraqIRQWestern Asia | 0.58 | 210 | highly uncertain |
 NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa | 0.58 | 14 | — |
 UkraineUKREastern Europe | 0.58 | 260 | — |
 VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 0.56 | 520 | — |
 Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 0.53 | 55 | — |
 ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 0.51 | 350 | — |
 TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia | 0.51 | 30 | — |
 MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa | 0.48 | 20 | — |
 BelarusBLREastern Europe | 0.47 | 45 | highly uncertain |
 EgyptEGYNorthern Africa | 0.46 | 440 | — |
 QatarQATWestern Asia | 0.45 | 12 | — |
 LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia | 0.43 | 30 | — |
 VenezuelaVENSouth America | 0.43 | 130 | highly uncertain |
 BotswanaBWASouthern Africa | 0.42 | 9 | — |
 TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa | 0.42 | 50 | — |
 NepalNPLSouthern Asia | 0.41 | 110 | — |
 FijiFJIMelanesia | 0.40 | 4 | — |
 PanamaPANCentral America | 0.40 | 16 | — |
 Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa | 0.38 | 7 | — |
 ChileCHLSouth America | 0.37 | 70 | — |
 FinlandFINNorthern Europe | 0.37 | 20 | — |
 MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 0.37 | 2 | — |
 PakistanPAKSouthern Asia | 0.37 | 750 | — |
 MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia | 0.36 | 110 | — |
 AngolaAGOMiddle Africa | 0.35 | 100 | — |
 PeruPERSouth America | 0.35 | 110 | — |
 GabonGABMiddle Africa | 0.34 | 7 | — |
 SurinameSURSouth America | 0.34 | 2 | — |
 BelizeBLZCentral America | 0.33 | 1 | — |
 BoliviaBOLSouth America | 0.33 | 35 | — |
 KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 0.33 | 20 | — |
 SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 0.33 | 25 | — |
 El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 0.31 | 19 | — |
 Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean | 0.31 | 4 | — |
 SudanSDNNorthern Africa | 0.29 | 110 | extremely uncertain |
 BurundiBDIEastern Africa | 0.28 | 30 | — |
 EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa | 0.27 | 3 | — |
 UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia | 0.27 | 85 | — |
 AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 0.26 | 25 | — |
 BarbadosBRBCaribbean | 0.26 | 1 | — |
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 0.25 | 9 | — |
 Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa | 0.25 | 12 | — |
 AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand | 0.24 | 60 | — |
 EcuadorECUSouth America | 0.24 | 40 | — |
 RwandaRWAEastern Africa | 0.24 | 30 | — |
 Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa | 0.23 | 1 | — |
 KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia | 0.23 | 40 | — |
 MongoliaMNGEastern Asia | 0.23 | 7 | — |
 MexicoMEXCentral America | 0.22 | 270 | — |
 YemenYEMWestern Asia | 0.22 | 60 | extremely uncertain |
 SomaliaSOMEastern Africa | 0.21 | 30 | extremely uncertain |
 ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa | 0.21 | 30 | — |
 Costa RicaCRICentral America | 0.20 | 10 | — |
 MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 0.20 | 3 | — |
 MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 0.20 | 6 | — |
 IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 0.19 | 9 | — |
 JapanJPNEastern Asia | 0.19 | 240 | — |
 New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand | 0.19 | 9 | — |
 SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 0.19 | 18 | — |
 SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe | 0.19 | 16 | — |
 ArgentinaARGSouth America | 0.18 | 75 | — |
 Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa | 0.18 | 8 | highly uncertain |
 GuyanaGUYSouth America | 0.18 | 1 | highly uncertain |
 NicaraguaNICCentral America | 0.18 | 11 | — |
 BrazilBRASouth America | 0.17 | 350 | — |
 Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa | 0.17 | 2 | — |
 TajikistanTJKCentral Asia | 0.17 | 15 | — |
 ParaguayPRYSouth America | 0.16 | 11 | — |
 IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia | 0.15 | 400 | — |
 Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia | 0.15 | 2 | — |
 ChadTCDMiddle Africa | 0.14 | 20 | extremely uncertain |
 ChinaCHNEastern Asia | 0.14 | 1,900 | — |
 DR CongoCODMiddle Africa | 0.14 | 110 | extremely uncertain |
 HondurasHNDCentral America | 0.14 | 13 | — |
 KosovoXKXSouthern Europe | 0.14 | 2 | — |
 TogoTGOWestern Africa | 0.14 | 11 | — |
 EthiopiaETHEastern Africa | 0.13 | 140 | — |
 GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 0.12 | 19 | — |
 JamaicaJAMCaribbean | 0.12 | 3 | — |
 PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 0.12 | 120 | — |
 Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa | 0.12 | 9 | — |
 UgandaUGAEastern Africa | 0.12 | 50 | — |
 GuineaGINWestern Africa | 0.11 | 13 | — |
 IndiaINDSouthern Asia | 0.11 | 1,420 | — |
 South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 0.11 | 65 | — |
 BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia | 0.10 | 170 | — |
 CameroonCMRMiddle Africa | 0.10 | 25 | — |
 GambiaGMBWestern Africa | 0.10 | 2 | highly uncertain |
 LesothoLSOSouthern Africa | 0.10 | 2 | — |
 ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 0.10 | 16 | — |
 MadagascarMDGEastern Africa | 0.09 | 20 | — |
 Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 0.08 | 20 | highly uncertain |
 BeninBENWestern Africa | 0.07 | 8 | — |
 HaitiHTICaribbean | 0.07 | 8 | extremely uncertain |
 SenegalSENWestern Africa | 0.07 | 11 | — |
 Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa | 0.06 | 10 | — |
 MaliMLIWestern Africa | 0.06 | 12 | extremely uncertain |
 GhanaGHAWestern Africa | 0.05 | 13 | — |
 KenyaKENEastern Africa | 0.05 | 25 | — |
 MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa | 0.05 | 13 | highly uncertain |
 NigeriaNGAWestern Africa | 0.05 | 100 | — |
 TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa | 0.05 | 25 | — |
 LiberiaLBRWestern Africa | 0.04 | 2 | — |
 NigerNERWestern Africa | 0.04 | 7 | highly uncertain |
 Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia | 0.04 | 3 | — |
MalawiMWIEastern Africa | 0.03 | 5 | — |
02In 2016
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- Eritrea4.80
- North Korea4.60
- Israel2.10
- South Sudan1.80
- Armenia1.60
Lowest
- Malawi0.03
- Papua New Guineashared0.04
- Nigershared0.04
- Liberiashared0.04
- Tanzaniashared0.05
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 0.28. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
Armed forces personnel (thousands)
Highest
China1,900Lowest4 share it
Middle country: 25
032015 → 2016
Since 2015
- +0 / −0countries joined / left
- 64values changed, of 140 in both
- 9 · 55rose · fell
- 76unchanged
Rose most
- Turkmenistan0.46 → 0.51+0.05
- El Salvador0.28 → 0.31+0.03
- Panama0.38 → 0.40+0.02
- Guyana0.16 → 0.18+0.02
- Dominican Republic0.52 → 0.53+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 2016.
72 distinct values among 140
Values are stored exactly as published, to 2 decimals. 6 countries share 0.14. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
118 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
140 rows · 5.0 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download armed-forces-personnel-2016-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 (2016). Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2016 [data set], describing 2016. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/armed-forces-personnel/2016
0611 held
Other years
‹ The year before
Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2015140 countries
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Armed Forces Personnel (% of population), 2017140 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