Military Size By Country

Military size remains a critical indicator of national power projection capabilities and security in the geopolitical landscape. The number of active military personnel reflects a country’s strategic positioning, threat assessment, and resource allocation.

How military size is measured

Our military size rankings count active personnel in all military branches of the official national armed forces. These active military are soldiers who work full-time and may be deployed at any time. Military forces include armies for land operations, navies for sea control, and air forces for aerial operations. Our data is sourced from the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance 2025 report, which provides information on military sizes worldwide.

The classification we use provides a standardized measure of each country's permanent military forces, ready to be deployed immediately. Although reserve military personnel — who serve part-time and do not dedicate themselves fully to the armed forces — and paramilitary forces — servicepeople who belong to military-like organizations but are not formally part of the national armed forces — are not included in our military size rankings, they are considered when assessing total military capability, which includes all three categories.

Military size is influenced by several factors, such as total population (recruitment contingent), perceived security threats (regional tensions, border disputes), economic capacity (sustainment and investment), strategic objectives, and historical military traditions. The largest standing armies generally belong to countries with some combination of large populations, significant security concerns, and sufficient economic resources.

China has the world's largest military, with 2,035,000 personnel, due to its huge population and the growing defense budget to modernize its army. India is in second place with 1,475,750 active troops, reflecting its large population and complex security environment. The United States is in third place with 1,315,600 personnel, with a technologically advanced volunteer force designed for global power projection. North Korea's armed forces, which have 1,280,000 personnel, reflect its policy of prioritizing military force despite economic challenges and rank fourth. Russia, in fifth place, maintains 1,134,000 active personnel, given ongoing conflicts and regional power ambitions. Ukraine dramatically increased its military to 730,000 troops in response to the existential threat of Russian invasion. Pakistan has the seventh-largest army with 660,000 active personnel, mainly due to its rivalry with India. Iran has expanded its armed forces amid regional tensions. Ethiopia's significant force of 503,000 reflects ongoing internal conflicts and regional security challenges. South Korea completes the top ten with 500,000 active personnel, maintaining substantial forces due to the persistent North Korean threat.

Top 10 countries by military size