Armed forces personnel, total in IDA total
IDA total: Armed forces personnel, total was 4.52 million in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel, total in IDA total, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Analysis
IDA total recorded 4.52 million for armed forces personnel, total in 2020.
That represents a change of down 7.8% on the previous year and down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in IDA total peaked at 4.90 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.30 million, in 1985.
IDA total ranks 18th of 46 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel, total in IDA total, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 2.30 million | — |
| 1989 | 2.68 million | +16.4% |
| 1990 | 2.81 million | +5.1% |
| 1991 | 2.81 million | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 2.79 million | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 2.82 million | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 2.65 million | -6.3% |
| 1995 | 4.52 million | +71.0% |
| 1996 | 4.62 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 4.68 million | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 4.68 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 4.87 million | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 4.89 million | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 4.29 million | -12.3% |
| 2002 | 4.55 million | +6.1% |
| 2003 | 4.53 million | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 4.38 million | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 4.39 million | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 4.41 million | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 4.45 million | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 4.66 million | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 4.86 million | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 4.83 million | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 4.84 million | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 4.81 million | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.78 million | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 4.87 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 4.83 million | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 4.75 million | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 4.76 million | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 4.90 million | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 4.52 million | -7.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel, total in IDA total changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +71.0% | 2.65 million | 4.52 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.49 million | 2.30 million | 2.68 million | 2 |
| 1990s | 3.72 million | 2.65 million | 4.87 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.51 million | 4.29 million | 4.89 million | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.82 million | 4.75 million | 4.90 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.52 million | 4.52 million | 4.52 million | 1 |
Countries ranked near IDA total
More public sector data for IDA total
- Arms imports 3.43 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 1.8 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0012 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 27.68 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 3.43 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 20.68 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0139 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 9.32 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 40.23 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 135.37 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel, total in IDA total?
- Armed forces personnel, total in IDA total was 4.52 million in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in IDA total?
- The highest recorded value was 4.90 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in IDA total?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.30 million in 1985.
- How does IDA total rank for armed forces personnel, total?
- IDA total ranks 18th out of 46 groups with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in IDA total?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this IDA total data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies, published as part of Armed forces personnel, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 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.