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Data

Armed forces personnel

What you should know about this indicator

How is this data described by its producer?

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.

Aggregation method:

Sum

Statistical concept and methodology:

Methodology: Military data on manpower represent quantitative assessment of the personnel strengths of the world's armed forces. The IISS collects the data from a wide variety of sources. The numbers are based on the most accurate data available to, or on the best estimate that can be made by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) at the time of its annual publication. The current WDI indicator includes active armed forces and active paramilitary (but not reservists). Armed forces personnel comprise all servicemen and women on full-time duty, including conscripts and long-term assignments from the Reserves (“Reserve” describes formations and units not fully manned or operational in peacetime, but which can be mobilized by recalling reservists in an emergency). The indicator includes paramilitary forces. The source of the data (IISS) reports armed forces and paramilitary forces separately, however these figures are added for the purpose of computing this series. Home Guard units are counted as paramilitary.

Development relevance:

Although national defense is an important function of government and security from external threats that contributes to economic development, high military expenditures for defense or civil conflicts burden the economy and may impede growth. Data on military expenditures are a rough indicator of the portion of national resources used for military activities and of the burden on the economy.

Comparisons of military spending among countries should take into account the many factors that influence perceptions of vulnerability and risk, including historical and cultural traditions, the length of borders that need defending, the quality of relations with neighbors, and the role of the armed forces in the body politic.

Limitations and exceptions:

Data excludes personnel not on active duty, therefore it underestimates the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. The cooperation of governments of all countries listed in “The Military Balance” has been sought by IISS and, in many cases, received. However, some data in “The Military Balance” is estimated.

Other notes:

Data for some countries are based on partial or uncertain data or rough estimates.

Source
The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
February 27, 2026
Next expected update
February 2027
Date range
1985–2020

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank – World Development Indicators

The World Development Indicators (WDI) database, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive collection of global development data, providing key economic, social, and environmental statistics. It includes over 1,500 indicators covering more than 200 countries and territories, with data spanning several decades.WDI serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, businesses, and analysts seeking to understand global trends and make data-driven decisions. The database covers a wide range of topics, including economic growth, education, health, poverty, trade, energy, infrastructure, governance, and environmental sustainability.The indicators are sourced from reputable national and international agencies, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and comparable data. Users can access the database through interactive online tools, API services, and downloadable datasets, facilitating detailed analysis and visualization.WDI is also used for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global development initiatives. By providing accessible and reliable statistics, it helps to inform policy discussions and strategies globally.Whether for academic research, policy planning, or economic analysis, the World Development Indicators database is an essential tool for understanding and addressing global development challenges.

Retrieved on
February 27, 2026
Retrieved from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.TOTL.P1
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.TOTL.P1). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2026). Accessed on 2026-02-27.

The World Development Indicators (WDI) database, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive collection of global development data, providing key economic, social, and environmental statistics. It includes over 1,500 indicators covering more than 200 countries and territories, with data spanning several decades.WDI serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, businesses, and analysts seeking to understand global trends and make data-driven decisions. The database covers a wide range of topics, including economic growth, education, health, poverty, trade, energy, infrastructure, governance, and environmental sustainability.The indicators are sourced from reputable national and international agencies, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and comparable data. Users can access the database through interactive online tools, API services, and downloadable datasets, facilitating detailed analysis and visualization.WDI is also used for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global development initiatives. By providing accessible and reliable statistics, it helps to inform policy discussions and strategies globally.Whether for academic research, policy planning, or economic analysis, the World Development Indicators database is an essential tool for understanding and addressing global development challenges.

Retrieved on
February 27, 2026
Retrieved from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.TOTL.P1
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.TOTL.P1). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2026). Accessed on 2026-02-27.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Armed forces personnel”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260512-185716/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.html [online resource] (archived on May 12, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. “Armed forces personnel” [dataset]. The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank, “World Development Indicators 125” [original data]. Retrieved May 13, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260512-185716/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.html (archived on May 12, 2026).

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Data URL (CSV format)
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false
Metadata URL (JSON format)
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false

Code examples

Examples of how to load this data into different data analysis tools.

Excel / Google Sheets
=IMPORTDATA("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")
Python with Pandas
import pandas as pd
import requests

# Fetch the data.
df = pd.read_csv("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false", storage_options = {'User-Agent': 'Our World In Data data fetch/1.0'})

# Fetch the metadata
metadata = requests.get("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false").json()
R
library(jsonlite)

# Fetch the data
df <- read.csv("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")

# Fetch the metadata
metadata <- fromJSON("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")
Stata
import delimited "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/armed-forces-personnel.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false", encoding("utf-8") clear