Which country has the highest Active Military Personnel?

China has the highest Active Military Personnel in 2025, at 2,035,000, followed by India (1,475,750) and United States (1,315,600).

Which country has the lowest Active Military Personnel?

Antigua and Barbuda has the lowest Active Military Personnel in 2025, at 200.

What is the median Active Military Personnel across countries?

The median is 25,725 across the 172 countries with data in 2025.

Where does this military size by country data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: The largest armies in the world based on active military personnel in 2019 - Statista; 2021 Military Strength Ranking - Global Firepower; 2021 Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies; List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel - Wiki. Last updated 2026-10-28.

Country rankings

Military Size by Country

Name: Military Size by Country
Creator: Rankodex

China has the highest Active Military Personnel in 2025 (2,035,000), followed by India (1,475,750) and United States (1,315,600). Antigua and Barbuda has the lowest (200).

Military179 countries · 6 metricsUpdated Oct 28, 2026Original page

4 sources

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Year

172 of 235 countries

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Active Military Personnel, 2025

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 172 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

25,725

Middle half 8.8K – 108.5K

Average

119,314

172 countries

Highest

2,035,000

China

Lowest

200

Antigua and Barbuda

Biggest changes · 2024 → 2025

164 countries have a value in both years.

Largest increases

Largest decreases

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

176 countries · # = rank by Active Military Personnel

#
1	China	2,035,000	510,000	3,045,000	3,045,000
2	India	1,475,750	1,155,000	4,246,800	4,246,800
3	United States	1,315,600	797,200	2,112,800	2,112,800
4	North Korea	1,280,000	600,000	7,580,000	7,580,000
5	Russia	1,134,000	1,500,000	3,203,000	3,203,000
6	Ukraine	730,000	—	990,000	990,000
7	Pakistan	660,000	550,000	1,501,000	1,501,000
8	Iran	610,000	350,000	1,000,000	1,000,000
9	Ethiopia	503,000	—	503,000	503,000
10	South Korea	500,000	3,100,000	6,613,500	6,613,500
11	Vietnam	450,000	5,000,000	5,490,000	5,490,000
12	Egypt	438,500	479,000	1,314,500	1,314,500
13	Indonesia	404,500	400,000	1,094,750	1,094,750
14	Brazil	374,500	1,415,000	2,184,500	2,184,500
15	Thailand	360,850	200,000	699,550	699,550
16	Turkey	355,200	378,700	894,700	894,700
17	Eritrea	301,750	—	301,750	301,750
18	Mexico	287,000	81,500	505,400	505,400
19	Colombia	269,000	34,950	469,000	469,000
20	Sri Lanka	262,500	5,500	362,050	362,050
21	Saudi Arabia	257,000	—	281,500	281,500
22	Japan	247,150	55,900	317,850	317,850
23	France	202,000	38,500	335,600	335,600
24	Morocco	195,800	150,000	395,800	395,800
25	Iraq	193,000	—	459,000	459,000
26	Germany	179,850	34,100	213,950	213,950
27	Afghanistan	172,000	—	172,000	172,000
28	Bangladesh	171,250	—	235,150	235,150
29	Israel	169,500	465,000	642,500	642,500
30	Taiwan	169,000	1,657,000	1,837,800	1,837,800
31	Poland	164,100	37,500	215,900	215,900
32	Italy	161,850	14,500	354,950	354,950
33	Philippines	146,250	131,000	357,950	357,950
34	Nigeria	143,000	—	223,000	223,000
35	United Kingdom	141,100	70,450	211,550	211,550
36	Algeria	139,000	150,000	476,200	476,200
37	Myanmar	134,000	—	204,000	204,000
38	Greece	132,000	289,000	428,400	428,400
39	DR Congo	128,350	—	128,350	128,350
40	Cambodia	124,300	—	191,300	191,300
41	Venezuela	123,000	8,000	351,000	351,000
42	Spain	122,200	13,800	223,450	223,450
43	Malaysia	113,000	51,600	431,800	431,800
44	Angola	107,000	—	117,000	117,000
45	Sudan	104,300	—	164,300	164,300
46	Jordan	100,500	65,000	180,500	180,500
47	Nepal	96,600	—	111,600	111,600
48	South Sudan	90,000	—	90,000	90,000
49	Argentina	83,000	—	114,250	114,250
50	Peru	81,000	188,000	346,000	346,000
51	Romania	69,900	55,000	181,900	181,900
52	South Africa	69,200	15,050	84,250	84,250
53	Chile	68,500	19,100	132,300	132,300
54	Azerbaijan	68,200	300,000	383,200	383,200
55	United Arab Emirates	63,000	—	63,000	63,000
56	Canada	62,300	29,100	97,200	97,200
57	Lebanon	60,000	—	80,000	80,000
58	Australia	58,540	21,450	79,990	79,990
59	Dominican Republic	56,800	—	71,800	71,800
60	Singapore	51,000	252,500	310,900	310,900
61	Cuba	49,000	39,000	114,500	114,500
62	Belarus	48,600	289,500	448,100	448,100
63	Uzbekistan	48,000	—	68,000	68,000
64	Uganda	45,000	10,000	56,400	56,400
65	Armenia	42,900	210,000	257,200	257,200
66	Oman	42,600	—	47,000	47,000
67	Yemen	40,000	—	40,000	40,000
68	Ecuador	39,600	118,000	158,100	158,100
69	Niger	39,100	—	87,100	87,100
70	Kazakhstan	39,000	—	70,500	70,500
71	Bulgaria	36,950	3,000	39,950	39,950
72	Turkmenistan	36,500	—	56,500	56,500
73	Tunisia	35,800	—	47,800	47,800
74	Bolivia	34,100	—	71,200	71,200
75	Netherlands	33,650	6,350	46,800	46,800
76	Chad	33,250	—	45,150	45,150
77	Rwanda	33,000	—	35,000	35,000
78	Hungary	32,150	20,000	52,150	52,150
79	Burundi	30,050	—	31,050	31,050
80	Laos	29,100	—	129,100	129,100
81	Zimbabwe	29,000	—	50,800	50,800
82	Serbia	28,150	50,150	82,000	82,000
83	Ivory Coast	27,400	—	27,400	27,400
84	Tanzania	27,000	80,000	108,400	108,400
85	Czechia	26,600	—	26,600	26,600
86	Portugal	26,050	23,500	72,370	72,370
87	Cameroon	25,400	—	34,400	34,400
87	Norway	25,400	40,000	65,400	65,400
89	Kenya	24,100	—	29,100	29,100
90	Finland	23,850	233,000	268,850	268,850
91	Belgium	23,500	5,900	29,400	29,400
92	Austria	22,200	109,200	131,400	131,400
93	Switzerland	21,300	196,450	217,750	217,750
94	Uruguay	21,100	—	22,500	22,500
95	Mali	21,000	—	41,000	41,000
96	Georgia	20,650	—	26,050	26,050
97	Ghana	19,000	—	19,000	19,000
98	Guatemala	18,050	63,850	106,900	106,900
99	Kuwait	17,500	23,700	48,300	48,300
100	Zambia	17,100	3,000	21,500	21,500
101	Croatia	16,800	2,100	18,900	18,900
102	Qatar	16,500	—	21,500	21,500
103	Lithuania	16,100	12,950	47,450	47,450
104	Bhutan	16,000	60,000	76,000	76,000
105	Mauritania	15,850	—	20,850	20,850
105	Slovakia	15,850	—	15,850	15,850
107	Honduras	14,950	60,000	82,950	82,950
108	Sweden	14,850	21,500	57,850	57,850
109	Paraguay	13,950	164,500	193,250	193,250
110	Somalia	13,900	—	13,900	13,900
111	Togo	13,750	—	18,750	18,750
112	Senegal	13,600	—	18,600	18,600
113	Madagascar	13,500	—	21,600	21,600
114	Denmark	13,100	44,200	57,300	57,300
115	Benin	12,300	—	17,100	17,100
116	Nicaragua	12,000	—	12,000	12,000
116	Cyprus	12,000	60,000	72,000	72,000
118	Namibia	11,600	—	17,600	17,600
119	Mozambique	11,200	—	11,200	11,200
120	Kyrgyzstan	10,900	—	20,400	20,400
121	Malawi	10,700	—	14,900	14,900
122	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10,650	6,000	16,650	16,650
123	Republic of the Congo	10,000	—	13,500	13,500
124	Guinea	9,700	—	12,300	12,300
124	Mongolia	9,700	137,000	154,200	154,200
126	Ireland	9,500	4,050	13,550	13,550
127	Central African Republic	9,150	—	10,150	10,150
128	Botswana	9,000	—	9,000	9,000
129	Tajikistan	8,800	20,000	36,300	36,300
130	New Zealand	8,700	3,270	11,970	11,970
131	Sierra Leone	8,500	—	8,500	8,500
132	Djibouti	8,450	—	13,100	13,100
133	Bahrain	8,200	—	19,460	19,460
134	North Macedonia	8,000	4,850	20,450	20,450
135	Albania	7,500	—	7,500	7,500
136	Brunei	7,200	700	8,350	8,350
137	Estonia	7,100	41,200	69,500	69,500
138	Burkina Faso	7,000	—	11,450	11,450
139	Latvia	6,600	16,000	22,600	22,600
140	Slovenia	6,200	950	7,150	7,150
141	Jamaica	5,950	2,580	8,530	8,530
142	Moldova	5,150	58,000	64,050	64,050
143	Gabon	4,700	—	6,700	6,700
144	Guinea-Bissau	4,450	—	4,450	4,450
145	Gambia	4,100	—	4,100	4,100
146	Trinidad and Tobago	4,050	—	4,050	4,050
147	Fiji	4,040	6,000	10,040	10,040
148	Papua New Guinea	4,000	—	4,000	4,000
148	Maldives	4,000	—	4,000	4,000
150	Guyana	3,400	670	4,070	4,070
151	Eswatini	3,000	—	3,000	3,000
152	Montenegro	2,885	2,800	9,785	9,785
153	El Salvador	2,600	9,900	15,100	15,100
154	Timor-Leste	2,250	—	2,250	2,250
155	Liberia	2,010	—	2,010	2,010
156	Lesotho	2,000	—	2,000	2,000
156	Belize	2,000	850	3,480	3,480
158	Suriname	1,840	—	1,840	1,840
159	Equatorial Guinea	1,750	—	1,750	1,750
160	Malta	1,700	260	1,960	1,960
161	Bahamas	1,500	—	1,500	1,500
162	Cape Verde	1,200	—	1,200	1,200
163	Luxembourg	1,100	—	1,100	1,100
164	Comoros	1,000	—	1,000	1,000
165	Tonga	750	—	750	750
166	Haiti	700	—	9,700	9,700
167	Barbados	610	430	1,040	1,040
168	San Marino	445	—	445	445
169	Seychelles	420	—	420	420
170	Saint Kitts and Nevis	300	—	300	300
171	Monaco	250	—	250	250
172	Antigua and Barbuda	200	80	280	280
—	Costa Rica	—	—	9,950	9,950
—	Panama	—	—	27,700	27,700
—	Mauritius	—	—	2,550	2,550
—	Iceland	—	—	250	250

What correlates with Active Military Personnel (2025)?

Pearson r against 1,444 other country metrics sharing at least 104 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Active Military Personnel tend to score higher on these

Number of TanksTanks by Country
r = +0.91 · very strong · n = 110
Plot
Number of Active OfficersPolice Spending by Country
r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 105
Plot
Wheat ConsumptionWheat Consumption by Country
r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 164
Plot
Total Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint by Country
r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 119
Plot
Internet Users (CIA)Internet Users by Country
r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 170
Plot
Internet UsersCountries With Poor (or Limited) Internet Access
r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 168
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Active Military Personnel tend to score lower on these

US Trade BalanceUS Trade Deficit by Country
r = −0.45 · moderate · n = 171
Plot
Global FirePower IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
r = −0.45 · moderate · n = 140
Plot
Press Freedom Index Score (RSF)Freedom Index by Country
r = −0.34 · moderate · n = 165
Plot
Chlamydial Infection RateSTD Rates by Country
r = −0.32 · moderate · n = 169
Plot
Average Men's Shoe Size (US sizes)Shoe Size by Country
r = −0.30 · moderate · n = 152
Plot
Net International Investment PositionNet International Investment Position by Country
r = −0.30 · weak · n = 109
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Active Military Personnel?: China has the highest Active Military Personnel in 2025, at 2,035,000, followed by India (1,475,750) and United States (1,315,600).
Which country has the lowest Active Military Personnel?: Antigua and Barbuda has the lowest Active Military Personnel in 2025, at 200.
What is the median Active Military Personnel across countries?: The median is 25,725 across the 172 countries with data in 2025.
Where does this military size by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: The largest armies in the world based on active military personnel in 2019 - Statista; 2021 Military Strength Ranking - Global Firepower; 2021 Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies; List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel - Wiki. Last updated 2026-10-28.

Largest increases

Largest decreases

Higher together

Opposite directions

Quick answers

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