Armed forces personnel, total in Qatar
Qatar: Armed forces personnel, total was 22,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel, total in Qatar, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Analysis
Qatar recorded 22,000 for armed forces personnel, total in 2020. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 86.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in Qatar peaked at 22,000 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 6,000, in 1985.
Qatar ranks 100th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel, total in Qatar, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 6,000 | — |
| 1989 | 7,000 | +16.7% |
| 1990 | 11,000 | +57.1% |
| 1991 | 11,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 8,000 | -27.3% |
| 1993 | 8,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 10,000 | +25.0% |
| 1995 | 11,100 | +11.0% |
| 1996 | 11,800 | +6.3% |
| 1997 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 12,300 | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 12,300 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 12,400 | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 12,400 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 12,000 | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 12,000 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 12,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 12,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 12,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 11,800 | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 11,800 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 21,500 | +82.2% |
| 2017 | 22,000 | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 21,500 | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 22,000 | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
Qatar compared with similar countries
- Qatar's 22,000 is below the median for high income countries, which is 25,000, 88% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Qatar's 22,000 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 80,000, 28% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6,500 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 10,630 | 8,000 | 11,800 | 10 |
| 2000s | 12,120 | 11,800 | 12,400 | 10 |
| 2010s | 15,780 | 11,800 | 22,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 22,000 | 22,000 | 22,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Qatar
More public sector data for Qatar
- Arms imports 1.05 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 403.1 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0053 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -42.4 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.15 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 5,800 current USD per person (2022)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0654 current USD per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 32.94 % change on previous year (2022)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 15.41 billion current USD (2022)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 174,064 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel, total in Qatar?
- Armed forces personnel, total in Qatar was 22,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Qatar?
- The highest recorded value was 22,000 in 2017.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Qatar?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,000 in 1985.
- How does Qatar rank for armed forces personnel, total?
- Qatar ranks 100th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in Qatar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 86.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Qatar 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 — 33 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.