Armed forces personnel in India
India: Armed forces personnel was 0.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in India, 1990–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Measured in % of total labor force.
Analysis
In 2020, armed forces personnel in India stood at 0.6%.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in India peaked at 0.7% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1994.
India ranks 106th of 171 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in India, year by year
| Year | % of total labor force | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.4% | — |
| 1991 | 0.4% | -1.8% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | +64.2% |
| 1996 | 0.6% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 0.6% | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 0.6% | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +6.2% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +14.1% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -15.5% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
More public sector data for India
- Arms imports 1.17 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.805 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -21.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.17 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 59.36 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0229 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 4.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 86.13 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 501.48 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in India?
- Armed forces personnel in India was 0.6% in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2005.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1994.
- How does India rank for armed forces personnel?
- India ranks 106th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies, published as part of Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.