List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel


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.

Guide to the list

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.
Many of the 171 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.

Tooth-to-tail ratio

The numbers of military personnel listed include both support personnel and actual combat personnel. For a typical country, the proportion of this total that comprises actual combat forces is about 26%. 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.

List by the International Institute for Strategic Studies

The following list is sourced from the 2019 edition of "The Military Balance" published annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
FlagCountryActive militaryReserve militaryParamilitaryTotalPer 1,000 capita
Per 1,000 capita

Not included in the list are the militaries of Abkhazia, Andorra, Artsakh, Bhutan, Eswatini, Maldives, Monaco, Northern Cyprus, San Marino, Saint Kitts and Nevis, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somaliland, Tonga and Vanuatu.