Military Size By Country 2024

1.	China	2.2M
2.	India	1.5M
3.	United States	1.4M
4.	North Korea	1.3M
5.	Russia	1.0M
6.	Pakistan	654.0K
7.	Iran	610.0K
8.	South Korea	599.0K
9.	Vietnam	482.0K
10.	Egypt	438.5K
11.	Myanmar	406.0K
12.	Indonesia	395.5K
13.	Brazil	366.5K
14.	Thailand	360.9K
15.	Turkey	355.2K
16.	Colombia	293.2K
17.	Sri Lanka	255.0K
18.	Japan	247.2K
19.	Saudi Arabia	227.0K
20.	Mexico	216.0K
21.	Ukraine	209.0K
22.	France	203.3K
23.	Eritrea	201.8K
24.	Morocco	195.8K
25.	Iraq	193.0K
26.	South Sudan	185.0K
27.	Germany	183.5K
28.	Afghanistan	178.8K
29.	Israel	169.5K
30.	Syria	169.0K
31.	Italy	165.5K
32.	Bangladesh	163.1K
33.	Taiwan	163.0K
34.	United Kingdom	148.5K
35.	Philippines	143.1K
36.	Nigeria	143.0K
37.	Greece	142.7K
38.	Ethiopia	138.0K
39.	DR Congo	134.3K
40.	Algeria	130.0K
41.	Azerbaijan	127.0K
42.	Cambodia	124.3K
43.	Venezuela	123.0K
44.	Spain	120.4K
45.	Poland	114.1K
46.	Malaysia	113.0K
47.	Angola	107.0K
48.	Sudan	104.3K
49.	Jordan	100.5K
50.	Nepal	96.6K
51.	Peru	81.0K
52.	Chile	77.2K
53.	Argentina	72.1K
54.	Romania	69.3K
55.	Canada	67.4K
56.	South Africa	65.4K
57.	United Arab Emirates	63.0K
58.	Lebanon	60.0K
59.	Australia	58.6K
60.	Dominican Republic	56.1K
61.	Singapore	51.0K
62.	Cuba	49.0K
63.	Uzbekistan	48.0K
64.	Belarus	45.4K
65.	Uganda	45.0K
66.	Armenia	44.8K
67.	Oman	42.6K
68.	Ecuador	40.3K
69.	Yemen	40.0K
70.	Kazakhstan	39.0K
71.	Bulgaria	37.0K
72.	Turkmenistan	36.5K
73.	Tunisia	35.8K
74.	Netherlands	35.4K
75.	Bolivia	34.1K
76.	Chad	33.3K
77.	Rwanda	33.0K
78.	Burundi	30.1K
79.	Sweden	29.8K
80.	Laos	29.1K
81.	Zimbabwe	29.0K
82.	Serbia	28.2K
83.	Hungary	27.8K
84.	Ivory Coast	27.4K
85.	Portugal	27.3K
86.	Tanzania	27.0K
87.	Belgium	26.3K
88.	Cameroon	25.4K
89.	El Salvador	24.5K
90.	Kenya	24.1K
91.	Finland	23.8K
92.	Norway	23.3K
93.	Austria	22.1K
94.	Czech Republic	21.8K
95.	Uruguay	21.0K
96.	Georgia	20.7K
97.	Lithuania	19.9K
98.	Somalia	19.8K
99.	Switzerland	19.6K
100.	Guatemala	18.1K
101.	Kuwait	17.5K
102.	Qatar	16.5K
103.	Mauritania	15.9K
104.	Slovakia	15.9K
105.	Ghana	15.5K
106.	Croatia	15.2K
107.	Zambia	15.1K
108.	Cyprus	15.0K
109.	Honduras	15.0K
110.	Denmark	14.5K
111.	Paraguay	14.0K
112.	Senegal	13.6K
113.	Madagascar	13.5K
114.	Mali	13.0K
115.	Nicaragua	12.0K
116.	Burkina Faso	11.2K
117.	Mozambique	11.2K
118.	Kyrgyzstan	10.9K
119.	Malawi	10.7K
120.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10.5K
121.	Djibouti	10.5K
122.	Republic of the Congo	10.0K
123.	Namibia	9.9K
124.	Mongolia	9.7K
125.	Guinea	9.7K
126.	Ireland	9.5K
127.	Central African Republic	9.2K
128.	New Zealand	9.0K
129.	Botswana	9.0K
130.	Tajikistan	8.8K
131.	Togo	8.6K
132.	Sierra Leone	8.5K
133.	Bahrain	8.2K
134.	North Macedonia	8.0K
135.	Albania	8.0K
136.	Slovenia	7.3K
137.	Benin	7.3K
138.	Brunei	7.2K
139.	Estonia	7.1K
140.	Latvia	6.2K
141.	Niger	5.3K
142.	Moldova	5.2K
143.	Gabon	4.7K
144.	Guinea Bissau	4.5K
145.	Trinidad and Tobago	4.1K
146.	Jamaica	4.0K
147.	Papua New Guinea	3.6K
148.	Fiji	3.5K
149.	Guyana	3.4K
150.	Montenegro	2.4K
151.	Liberia	2.0K
152.	Lesotho	2.0K
153.	Malta	2.0K
154.	Suriname	1.8K
155.	Belize	1.5K
156.	Equatorial Guinea	1.5K
157.	Bahamas	1.3K
158.	Cape Verde	1.2K
159.	Luxembourg	900
160.	Gambia	800
161.	Barbados	610
162.	Seychelles	420
163.	Antigua and Barbuda	180
164.	Haiti	150

Military Strength Around the World

As the geopolitical landscape of the world continues to shift and reshape, maintaining an effective defense force remains integral for countries around the globe. It is not just the size, but also the technology and capabilities of a nation's military that contribute to its ability to defend its sovereignty and meet international obligations. However, the size of a country's military, measured by the total number of active and reserve personnel, does offer some insights into its potential military capabilities. The data on the size of the military personnel across various countries reveal some intriguing findings. Below are a few highlights:

The Asian giant, China, tops the list with a staggering 2.2 million total military personnel, underlining its massive defense infrastructure. With its booming economy and technological advances, China continues to invest heavily in its military capabilities.
In terms of raw numbers, India trails behind China with its 1.5 million-strong military. However, the United States, while sitting third with 1.4 million military personnel, arguably has the most technologically advanced military capabilities in the world.
North Korea and Russia round off the top five nations with the largest military, boasting 1.3 million and 1 million personnel, respectively.
Outside the top five, countries vary widely in their military sizes. For instance, Pakistan has 654,000 military personnel, while countries like Luxembourg and Barbados maintain relatively minuscule defense forces with 900 and 610 personnel, respectively. Understanding these statistics is key to appreciating the different defense strategies adopted by countries worldwide, which often reflect their respective geopolitical, economic, and historical contexts.

Largest Militaries in the World

The ten countries with the highest total military personnel are China, India, the United States, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, South Korea, Vietnam, and Egypt. The country with the largest number of military personnel is China, with a whopping 2.2 million personnel. India stands second with 1.5 million military personnel. The United States is not far behind at third place, with 1.4 million personnel. North Korea, with a considerable military size, has about 1.3 million military personnel, making it the fourth largest military by personnel. Russia also features amongst the top rankers, with a strength of 1 million personnel. The sixth and seventh countries with the largest military personnel are Pakistan and Iran, with 654.0K and 610.0K respectively. The next three countries all fall under 600.0K: South Korea records 599.0K military personnel, while Vietnam and Egypt report 482.0K and 438.5K military personnel respectively. 10 Countries with the Highest Military Personnel:

China - 2.2 Million
India - 1.5 Million
United States - 1.4 Million
North Korea - 1.3 Million
Russia - 1 Million
Pakistan - 654.0K
Iran - 610.0K
South Korea - 599.0K
Vietnam - 482.0K
Egypt - 438.5K

Smallest Militaries in the World

The country with the smallest reported military in terms of active personnel is Haiti, which only has 150 total military personnel. This is followed closely by Antigua and Barbuda, another island nation in the Caribbean, with 180 total military personnel. Meanwhile, the Seychelles, an island country in the Indian Ocean, has a total of 420 military personnel making it the third country with the smallest military force. Barbados and Gambia also have small military forces, with 610 and 800 total military personnel respectively. Luxembourg in Europe, despite its wealth and high standard of living, only has 900 total military personnel. Further down the list are Cape Verde, the Bahamas, Equatorial Guinea, and Belize. Cape Verde has a total military force of 1.2k, while the Bahamas and both Equatorial Guinea and Belize have 1.3k and 1.5k total military personnel respectively. The ten countries with the smallest military forces are:

Haiti - 150 total military personnel
Antigua and Barbuda - 180 total military personnel
Seychelles - 420 total military personnel
Barbados - 610 total military personnel
Gambia - 800 total military personnel
Luxembourg - 900 total military personnel
Cape Verde - 1.2k total military personnel
Bahamas - 1.3k total military personnel
Equatorial Guinea - 1.5k total military personnel
Belize - 1.5k total military personnel

Colombia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

293.2K

#16

Croatia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.2K

#106

Cuba

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

49.0K

#62

Cyprus

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.0K

#108

Czech Republic

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

21.8K

#94

DR Congo

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

134.3K

#39

Denmark

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

14.5K

#110

Djibouti

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

10.5K

#121

Dominican Republic

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

56.1K

#60

Ecuador

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

40.3K

#68

Egypt

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

438.5K

#10

El Salvador

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

24.5K

#89

Equatorial Guinea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.5K

#156

Eritrea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

201.8K

#23

Estonia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

7.1K

#139

Ethiopia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

138.0K

#38

Fiji

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

3.5K

#148

Finland

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

23.8K

#91

France

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

203.3K

#22

Gabon

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

4.7K

#143

Gambia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

800

#160

Georgia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

20.7K

#96

Germany

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

183.5K

#27

Ghana

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.5K

#105

Greece

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

142.7K

#37

Guatemala

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

18.1K

#100

Guinea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

9.7K

#125

Guinea Bissau

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

4.5K

#144

Guyana

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

3.4K

#149

Haiti

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

150

#164

Honduras

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.0K

#109

Hungary

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

27.8K

#83

India

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.5M

Indonesia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

395.5K

#12

Iran

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

610.0K

Iraq

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

193.0K

#25

Ireland

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

9.5K

#126

Israel

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

169.5K

#29

Italy

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

165.5K

#31

Ivory Coast

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

27.4K

#84

Jamaica

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

4.0K

#146

Japan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

247.2K

#18

Jordan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

100.5K

#49

Kazakhstan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

39.0K

#70

Kenya

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

24.1K

#90

Kuwait

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

17.5K

#101

Kyrgyzstan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

10.9K

#118

Laos

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

29.1K

#80

Latvia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

6.2K

#140

Lebanon

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

60.0K

#58

Lesotho

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

2.0K

#152

Liberia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

2.0K

#151

Lithuania

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

19.9K

#97

Luxembourg

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

900

#159

Madagascar

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

13.5K

#113

Malawi

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

10.7K

#119

Malaysia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

113.0K

#46

Mali

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

13.0K

#114

Malta

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

2.0K

#153

Mauritania

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.9K

#103

Mexico

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

216.0K

#20

Moldova

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

5.2K

#142

Mongolia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

9.7K

#124

Montenegro

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

2.4K

#150

Morocco

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

195.8K

#24

Mozambique

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

11.2K

#117

Myanmar

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

406.0K

#11

Namibia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

9.9K

#123

Nepal

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

96.6K

#50

Netherlands

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

35.4K

#74

New Zealand

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

9.0K

#128

Nicaragua

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

12.0K

#115

Niger

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

5.3K

#141

Nigeria

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

143.0K

#36

North Korea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.3M

North Macedonia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

8.0K

#134

Norway

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

23.3K

#92

Oman

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

42.6K

#67

Pakistan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

654.0K

Papua New Guinea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

3.6K

#147

Paraguay

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

14.0K

#111

Peru

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

81.0K

#51

Philippines

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

143.1K

#35

Poland

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

114.1K

#45

Portugal

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

27.3K

#85

Qatar

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

16.5K

#102

Republic of the Congo

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

10.0K

#122

Romania

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

69.3K

#54

Russia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.0M

Rwanda

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

33.0K

#77

Saudi Arabia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

227.0K

#19

Senegal

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

13.6K

#112

Serbia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

28.2K

#82

Seychelles

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

420

#162

Sierra Leone

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

8.5K

#132

Singapore

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

51.0K

#61

Slovakia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.9K

#104

Slovenia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

7.3K

#136

Somalia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

19.8K

#98

South Africa

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

65.4K

#56

South Korea

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

599.0K

South Sudan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

185.0K

#26

Spain

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

120.4K

#44

Sri Lanka

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

255.0K

#17

Sudan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

104.3K

#48

Suriname

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.8K

#154

Sweden

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

29.8K

#79

Switzerland

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

19.6K

#99

Syria

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

169.0K

#30

Taiwan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

163.0K

#33

Tajikistan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

8.8K

#130

Tanzania

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

27.0K

#86

Thailand

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

360.9K

#14

Togo

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

8.6K

#131

Trinidad and Tobago

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

4.1K

#145

Tunisia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

35.8K

#73

Turkey

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

355.2K

#15

Turkmenistan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

36.5K

#72

Uganda

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

45.0K

#65

Ukraine

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

209.0K

#21

United Arab Emirates

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

63.0K

#57

United Kingdom

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

148.5K

#34

United States

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

1.4M

Uruguay

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

21.0K

#95

Uzbekistan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

48.0K

#63

Venezuela

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

123.0K

#43

Vietnam

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

482.0K

Yemen

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

40.0K

#69

Zambia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

15.1K

#107

Zimbabwe

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Military Active Duty

29.0K

#81

Additional Military Datasets