European Union vs United States of America: Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled

European Union
1.91 million
in 2020
United States of America
1.40 million
in 2020
European Union rank
2nd
United States of America rank
5th

Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled over time

  • European Union
  • United States of America
01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M198520022020

How they compare

European Union currently reports 1.91 million against 1.40 million in United States of America, a difference of 518,000.

That makes European Union's figure about 1.4 times United States of America's.

Across all 36 years both countries report, European Union has been ahead every year.

European Union ranks 2nd and United States of America ranks 5th of 3 groups.

European Union has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade European Union United States of America Difference Ahead
1980s 3.24 million 2.20 million 1.04 million European Union
1990s 3.20 million 1.77 million 1.44 million European Union
2000s 2.44 million 1.50 million 942,134 European Union
2010s 1.98 million 1.42 million 560,870 European Union
2020s 1.91 million 1.40 million 518,000 European Union

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled, European Union or United States of America?
European Union, at 1.91 million against 1.40 million in United States of America as of 2020.
What is the difference in armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled between European Union and United States of America?
518,000, with European Union ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for European Union and United States of America?
36 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2020.
How do European Union and United States of America rank globally for armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled?
European Union ranks 2nd and United States of America ranks 5th of 3 groups.
Where does this data come from?
Statizoid (derived), published as Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

European Union vs United States of America: Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/armed-forces-personnel-total-gaps-filled/european-union/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page; please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/armed-forces-personnel-total-gaps-filled/european-union/united-states/">European Union vs United States of America: Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Armed forces personnel, total, gaps filled
Source
Statizoid (derived)
Licence
Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage
219 places, 7,420 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed

Armed forces personnel, total with 597 missing years estimated by linear interpolation between the nearest real observations. Only gaps of 4 years or fewer are filled, and never beyond the first or last actual measurement — these are filled holes, not forecasts.