![]() | This article needs to be updated.(June 2025) |
This is a list of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel. It includes any government-sponsored soldiers used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government. The term "country" is used in its most common use, in the sense of state which exercises sovereignty or has limited recognition.
The data presented below varies significantly in methodology, date, and definitions of what constitutes "active", "reserve", and "paramilitary" forces. Some sources include conscripts, while others may not distinguish between internal security and military roles. These inconsistencies may affect direct comparison between countries.
The list consists of columns that can be sorted by clicking on the appropriate title:
As military forces around the world are constantly changing in size, no definitive list can ever be compiled.
All of the 173 countries listed here, especially those with the highest number of total soldiers such as the two Koreas and Vietnam, include a large number of paramilitaries, civilians and policemen in their reserve personnel. Some countries, such as Italy and Japan, have only volunteers in their armed forces. Other countries, such as Mauritius and Panama, have no national armies, but only a paramilitary force.
The numbers of military personnel listed include both support personnel (supplies, construction, and contracting) and actual combat personnel. For a typical country, the proportion of this total that comprises actual combat forces is about 26%[ citation needed ] (so, for every soldier there will be around three support personnel). This proportion is referred to as the "tooth-to-tail ratio".
Some countries have a considerably smaller tooth-to-tail ratio: For example, the United States Armed Forces has a tooth-to-tail ratio of 17%, meaning that for every combat unit there are around five support units. [1]
Country | Active military | Reserve military | Paramilitary | Total | Per 1,000 capita (total) | Per 1,000 capita (active) | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 172,000 | 0 | 0 | 172,000 | 4.3 | 4.3 | [2] |
![]() | 7,500 | 0 | 0 | 7,500 | 2.4 | 2.4 | [3] |
![]() | 139,000 | 150,000 | 187,200 | 476,200 | 10.3 | 3 | [4] |
![]() | 107,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 117,000 | 3.3 | 3 | [5] |
![]() | 200 | 80 | 0 | 280 | 2.8 | 2 | [6] |
![]() | 72,100 | 0 | 31,250 | 103,350 | 2.2 | 1.5 | [7] |
![]() | 42,900 | 210,000 | 4,300 | 257,200 | 86 | 14.4 | [8] [a] |
![]() | 58,540 | 21,450 | 0 | 79,990 | 3 | 2.2 | [9] |
![]() | 22,200 | 109,200 | 0 | 131,400 | 14.7 | 2.5 | [10] |
![]() | 68,200 | 300,000 | 15,000 | 383,200 | 36 | 6.4 | [11] |
![]() | 1,500 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 3.7 | 3.7 | [12] |
![]() | 8,200 | 0 | 11,260 | 19,460 | 12.4 | 5.2 | [13] |
![]() | 171,250 | 0 | 63,900 | 235,150 | 1.4 | 1 | [14] |
![]() | 610 | 430 | 0 | 1,040 | 3.4 | 2 | [15] |
![]() | 48,600 | 289,500 | 110,000 | 448,100 | 47 | 5.1 | [16] |
![]() | 23,500 | 5,900 | 0 | 29,400 | 2.5 | 2 | [17] |
![]() | 1,500 | 700 | 150 | 2,350 | 6.1 | 3.9 | [15] |
![]() | 12,300 | 0 | 4,800 | 17,100 | 1.2 | 0.8 | [18] |
![]() | 34,100 | 0 | 37,100 | 71,200 | 5.8 | 2.8 | [19] |
![]() | 10,650 | 6,000 | 0 | 16,650 | 4.4 | 2.8 | [20] |
![]() | 9,000 | 0 | 0 | 9,000 | 3.7 | 3.7 | [21] |
![]() | 374,500 | 1,415,000 | 395,000 | 2,184,500 | 9.9 | 1.7 | [22] |
![]() | 7,200 | 700 | 450 | 8,350 | 17.2 | 14.8 | [23] |
![]() | 36,950 | 3,000 | 0 | 39,950 | 5.9 | 5.4 | [24] |
![]() | 7,000 | 0 | 4,450 | 11,450 | 4.7 | 2.9 | [25] |
![]() | 30,050 | 0 | 1,000 | 31,050 | 2.3 | 2.2 | [26] |
![]() | 124,300 | 0 | 67,000 | 191,300 | 11.3 | 7.4 | [27] |
![]() | 25,400 | 0 | 9,000 | 34,400 | 1.1 | 0.8 | [28] |
![]() | 62,300 | 29,100 | 5,800 | 97,200 | 2.5 | 1.6 | [29] |
![]() | 1,200 | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 2 | 2 | [30] |
![]() | 9,150 | 0 | 1,000 | 10,150 | 1.8 | 1.6 | [31] |
![]() | 33,250 | 0 | 11,900 | 45,150 | 2.4 | 1.8 | [32] |
![]() | 68,500 | 19,100 | 44,700 | 132,300 | 7.1 | 3.7 | [33] |
![]() | 2,035,000 | 510,000 | 500,000 | 3,045,000 | 2.1 | 1.4 | [34] |
![]() | 269,000 | 34,950 | 165,050 | 469,000 | 9.5 | 5.4 | [35] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 9,950 | 9,950 | 1.9 | 0 | [36] |
![]() | 27,400 | 0 | 0 | 27,400 | 0.9 | 0.9 | [37] [b] |
![]() | 16,800 | 2,100 | 0 | 18,900 | 4.6 | 4 | [38] |
![]() | 49,000 | 39,000 | 26,500 | 114,500 | 10.4 | 4.5 | [39] [c] |
![]() | 12,000 | 50,000 | 250 | 62,250 | 47.6 | 9.2 | [40] |
![]() | 26,600 | 0 | 0 | 26,600 | 2.5 | 2.5 | [41] |
![]() | 128,350 | 0 | 0 | 128,350 | 1.1 | 1.1 | [42] |
![]() | 13,100 | 44,200 | 0 | 57,300 | 9.6 | 2.2 | [43] |
![]() | 8,450 | 0 | 4,650 | 13,100 | 13.4 | 8.7 | [44] |
![]() | 56,800 | 0 | 15,000 | 71,800 | 6.6 | 5.3 | [45] |
![]() | 39,600 | 118,000 | 500 | 158,100 | 8.6 | 2.2 | [46] |
![]() | 438,500 | 479,000 | 397,000 | 1,314,500 | 11.8 | 3.9 | [47] |
![]() | 2,600 | 9,900 | 2,600 | 15,100 | 2.3 | 0.4 | [48] |
![]() | 1,750 | 0 | 0 | 1,750 | 1 | 1 | [49] [d] |
![]() | 301,750 | 0 | 0 | 301,750 | 47.6 | 47.6 | [50] [e] |
![]() | 7,100 | 41,200 | 21,200 | 69,500 | 58.2 | 5.9 | [51] |
![]() | 503,000 | 0 | 0 | 503,000 | 4.2 | 4.2 | [52] |
![]() | 4,040 | 6,000 | 0 | 10,040 | 10.6 | 4.2 | [53] |
![]() | 23,850 | 233,000 | 12,000 | 268,850 | 47.8 | 4.2 | [54] |
![]() | 202,000 | 38,500 | 95,100 | 335,600 | 4.9 | 3 | [55] |
![]() | 4,700 | 0 | 2,000 | 6,700 | 2.7 | 1.9 | [56] |
![]() | 4,100 | 0 | 0 | 4,100 | 1.6 | 1.6 | [57] |
![]() | 20,650 | 0 | 5,400 | 26,050 | 5.3 | 4.2 | [58] |
![]() | 179,850 | 34,100 | 0 | 213,950 | 2.5 | 2.1 | [59] |
![]() | 19,000 | 0 | 0 | 19,000 | 0.5 | 0.5 | [60] |
![]() | 132,000 | 289,000 | 7,400 | 428,400 | 41 | 12.6 | [61] |
![]() | 18,050 | 63,850 | 25,000 | 106,900 | 5.9 | 1 | [62] |
![]() | 9,700 | 0 | 2,600 | 12,300 | 0.9 | 0.7 | [63] |
![]() | 4,450 | 0 | 0 | 4,450 | 2.1 | 2.1 | [64] |
![]() | 3,400 | 670 | 0 | 4,070 | 5.1 | 4.3 | [65] |
![]() | 700 | 0 | 9,000 | 9,700 | 0.8 | 0.1 | [66] |
![]() | 14,950 | 60,000 | 8,000 | 82,950 | 8.7 | 1.6 | [67] |
![]() | 32,150 | 20,000 | 0 | 52,150 | 5.3 | 3.3 | [68] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 250 | 250 | 0.7 | 0 | [69] |
![]() | 1,475,750 | 1,155,000 | 1,616,050 | 4,246,800 | 3 | 1 | [70] |
![]() | 404,500 | 400,000 | 290,250 | 1,094,750 | 3.9 | 1.4 | [71] |
![]() | 610,000 | 350,000 | 40,000 | 1,000,000 | 11.3 | 6.9 | [72] [f] |
![]() | 193,000 | 0 | 266,000 | 459,000 | 11.1 | 4.7 | [73] |
![]() | 9,500 | 4,050 | 0 | 13,550 | 2.7 | 1.9 | [69] |
![]() | 169,500 | 465,000 | 8,000 | 642,500 | 69.4 | 18.3 | [74] |
![]() | 161,850 | 14,500 | 178,600 | 354,950 | 5.8 | 2.7 | [75] [g] |
![]() | 5,950 | 2,580 | 0 | 8,530 | 3 | 2.1 | [76] |
![]() | 247,150 | 55,900 | 14,800 | 317,850 | 2.6 | 2 | [77] |
![]() | 100,500 | 65,000 | 15,000 | 180,500 | 16.3 | 9.1 | [78] |
![]() | 39,000 | 0 | 31,500 | 70,500 | 3.5 | 1.9 | [79] |
![]() | 24,100 | 0 | 5,000 | 29,100 | 0.5 | 0.4 | [80] |
![]() | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 1.5 | 1.5 | [81] |
![]() | 17,500 | 23,700 | 7,100 | 48,300 | 15.4 | 5.6 | [82] |
![]() | 10,900 | 0 | 9,500 | 20,400 | 3.3 | 1.8 | [83] |
![]() | 29,100 | 0 | 100,000 | 129,100 | 16.4 | 3.7 | [84] |
![]() | 6,600 | 16,000 | 0 | 22,600 | 12.5 | 3.7 | [85] |
![]() | 60,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 80,000 | 15 | 11.3 | [86] |
![]() | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0.9 | 0.9 | [87] |
![]() | 2,010 | 0 | 0 | 2,010 | 0.4 | 0.4 | [88] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [89] [h] |
![]() | 16,100 | 12,950 | 18,400 | 47,450 | 18.1 | 6.1 | [90] |
![]() | 900 | 0 | 600 | 1,500 | 2.2 | 1.3 | [91] |
![]() | 13,500 | 0 | 8,100 | 21,600 | 0.7 | 0.5 | [92] |
![]() | 10,700 | 0 | 4,200 | 14,900 | 0.8 | 0.5 | [92] |
![]() | 113,000 | 51,600 | 267,200 | 431,800 | 12.6 | 3.3 | [93] [i] |
![]() | 4,000 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 10.3 | 10.3 | [94] |
![]() | 21,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 41,000 | 1.9 | 1 | [95] |
![]() | 1,700 | 260 | 0 | 1,960 | 4.2 | 3.6 | [96] |
![]() | 15,850 | 0 | 5,000 | 20,850 | 4.8 | 3.7 | [97] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 2,550 | 2,550 | 1.9 | 0 | [98] |
![]() | 287,000 | 81,500 | 136,900 | 505,400 | 3.9 | 2.2 | [99] |
![]() | 5,150 | 58,000 | 900 | 64,050 | 17.8 | 1.4 | [100] |
![]() | 9,700 | 137,000 | 7,500 | 154,200 | 49.7 | 3.1 | [101] |
![]() | 2,885 | 2,800 | 4,100 | 9,785 | 15.9 | 4.7 | [102] |
![]() | 195,800 | 150,000 | 50,000 | 395,800 | 10.7 | 5.3 | [103] |
![]() | 11,200 | 0 | 0 | 11,200 | 0.3 | 0.3 | [104] |
![]() | 134,000 | 0 | 70,000 | 204,000 | 3.5 | 2.3 | [105] |
![]() | 11,600 | 0 | 6,000 | 17,600 | 6.3 | 4.1 | [106] |
![]() | 96,600 | 0 | 15,000 | 111,600 | 3.6 | 3.1 | [107] |
![]() | 33,650 | 6,350 | 6,800 | 46,800 | 2.6 | 1.9 | [108] |
![]() | 8,700 | 3,270 | 0 | 11,970 | 2.3 | 1.7 | [109] |
![]() | 12,000 | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 1.8 | 1.8 | [110] |
![]() | 39,100 | 0 | 48,000 | 87,100 | 3.3 | 1.5 | [111] |
![]() | 143,000 | 0 | 80,000 | 223,000 | 1 | 0.6 | [112] |
![]() | 1,280,000 | 600,000 | 5,700,000 | 7,580,000 | 288.2 | 48.7 | [113] [j] |
![]() | 8,000 | 4,850 | 7,600 | 20,450 | 9.6 | 3.7 | [114] |
![]() | 25,400 | 40,000 | 0 | 65,400 | 11.9 | 4.6 | [115] |
![]() | 42,600 | 0 | 4,400 | 47,000 | 12.3 | 11.1 | [116] |
![]() | 660,000 | 550,000 | 291,000 | 1,501,000 | 5.9 | 2.6 | [117] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [118] [k] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 27,700 | 27,700 | 6.2 | 0 | [119] |
![]() | 4,000 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0.4 | 0.4 | [120] |
![]() | 13,950 | 164,500 | 14,800 | 193,250 | 26 | 1.9 | [121] |
![]() | 81,000 | 188,000 | 77,000 | 346,000 | 10.7 | 2.5 | [122] |
![]() | 146,250 | 131,000 | 80,700 | 357,950 | 3 | 1.2 | [123] |
![]() | 164,100 | 37,500 | 14,300 | 215,900 | 5.6 | 4.2 | [124] |
![]() | 26,050 | 23,500 | 22,820 | 72,370 | 7.1 | 2.5 | [125] |
![]() | 16,500 | 0 | 5,000 | 21,500 | 8.4 | 6.5 | [126] |
![]() | 10,000 | 0 | 3,500 | 13,500 | 2.7 | 2 | [127] |
![]() | 69,900 | 55,000 | 57,000 | 181,900 | 10 | 3.9 | [128] |
![]() | 1,134,000 | 1,500,000 | 569,000 | 3,203,000 | 22.7 | 8.1 | [129] |
![]() | 33,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 35,000 | 2.6 | 2.4 | [130] |
![]() | 257,000 | 0 | 24,500 | 281,500 | 7.7 | 7 | [131] |
![]() | 13,600 | 0 | 5,000 | 18,600 | 1 | 0.7 | [132] |
![]() | 28,150 | 50,150 | 3,700 | 82,000 | 12.3 | 4.2 | [133] |
![]() | 420 | 0 | 0 | 420 | 4.3 | 4.3 | [134] |
![]() | 8,500 | 0 | 0 | 8,500 | 1.3 | 1.3 | [134] |
![]() | 51,000 | 252,500 | 7,400 | 310,900 | 52 | 8.5 | [135] |
![]() | 15,850 | 0 | 0 | 15,850 | 2.9 | 2.9 | [81] |
![]() | 6,200 | 950 | 0 | 7,150 | 3.4 | 3 | [136] |
![]() | 13,900 | 0 | 0 | 13,900 | 1.1 | 1.1 | [137] |
![]() | 69,200 | 15,050 | 0 | 84,250 | 1.4 | 1.1 | [138] |
![]() | 500,000 | 3,100,000 | 3,013,500 | 6,613,500 | 127 | 9.6 | [139] |
![]() | 90,000 | 0 | 0 | 90,000 | 7.4 | 7.4 | [140] |
![]() | 122,200 | 13,800 | 87,450 | 223,450 | 4.7 | 2.6 | [141] |
![]() | 262,500 | 5,500 | 94,050 | 362,050 | 16.5 | 11.9 | [142] |
![]() | 104,300 | 0 | 60,000 | 164,300 | 3.3 | 2.1 | [143] |
![]() | 1,840 | 0 | 0 | 1,840 | 2.8 | 2.8 | [144] |
![]() | 14,850 | 21,500 | 21,500 | 57,850 | 5.5 | 1.4 | [145] |
![]() | 21,300 | 196,450 | 0 | 217,750 | 24.8 | 2.4 | [146] |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [147] [l] |
![]() | 169,000 | 1,657,000 | 11,800 | 1,837,800 | 77.9 | 7.2 | [148] |
![]() | 8,800 | 20,000 | 7,500 | 36,300 | 3.5 | 0.8 | [149] |
![]() | 27,000 | 80,000 | 1,400 | 108,400 | 1.6 | 0.4 | [150] |
![]() | 360,850 | 200,000 | 138,700 | 699,550 | 10 | 5.2 | [151] |
![]() | 2,250 | 0 | 0 | 2,250 | 1.5 | 1.5 | [152] |
![]() | 13,750 | 0 | 5,000 | 18,750 | 2.1 | 1.5 | [153] |
![]() | 4,050 | 0 | 0 | 4,050 | 3.3 | 3.3 | [144] |
![]() | 35,800 | 0 | 12,000 | 47,800 | 4 | 3 | [154] |
![]() | 355,200 | 378,700 | 160,800 | 894,700 | 10.6 | 4.2 | [155] |
![]() | 36,500 | 0 | 20,000 | 56,500 | 9.8 | 6.4 | [156] |
![]() | 45,000 | 10,000 | 1,400 | 56,400 | 1.1 | 0.9 | [157] |
![]() | 730,000 | 0 | 260,000 | 990,000 | 27.8 | 20.5 | [158] |
![]() | 63,000 | 0 | 0 | 63,000 | 6.3 | 6.3 | [159] |
![]() | 141,100 | 70,450 | 0 | 211,550 | 3.1 | 2.1 | [160] |
![]() | 1,315,600 | 797,200 | 0 | 2,112,800 | 6.2 | 3.8 | [161] |
![]() | 21,100 | 0 | 1,400 | 22,500 | 6.6 | 6.2 | [162] |
![]() | 48,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 68,000 | 1.9 | 1.3 | [163] |
![]() | 123,000 | 8,000 | 220,000 | 351,000 | 11.5 | 4 | [164] |
![]() | 450,000 | 5,000,000 | 40,000 | 5,490,000 | 51.9 | 4.3 | [165] |
![]() | 40,000 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 1.3 | 1.3 | [166] |
![]() | 17,100 | 3,000 | 1,400 | 21,500 | 1 | 0.8 | [167] |
![]() | 29,000 | 0 | 21,800 | 50,800 | 3 | 1.7 | [168] |
Not included in the list are the militaries of Abkhazia, Bhutan, Comoros, Eswatini, Monaco, Northern Cyprus, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somaliland, South Ossetia, and Tonga.