Upper middle income | Armed forces personnel, total
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. 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. Statistical concept and 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.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Upper middle income
Records
63
Source
Upper middle income | Armed forces personnel, total
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
7573200 1985
1986
1987
1988
8199000 1989
8148000 1990
6921000 1991
8791000 1992
8146000 1993
8110000 1994
11091000 1995
11051100 1996
10610720 1997
10748780 1998
10373610 1999
10393900 2000
10142500 2001
9983600 2002
9937400 2003
9760770 2004
9869770 2005
10209900 2006
9345900 2007
9548900 2008
9764818 2009
9766638 2010
9800533 2011
9833574 2012
9070683 2013
9136690 2014
9113910 2015
8920540 2016
8928000 2017
9115630 2018
8941000 2019
9034000 2020
2021
2022
Upper middle income | Armed forces personnel, total
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. 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. Statistical concept and 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.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Upper middle income
Records
63
Source