Largest Armies by Country (1900–2022): China, India, United States and Russia Among the World's Biggest Military Powers Tinubu Approves New Economic Measures

The size of a country’s military is an important measure of its national defence capacity, manpower and ability to protect its territorial integrity.

Over the past century, the world’s military balance has changed significantly. From the powerful European armies of the early 1900s to the massive military forces of the United States, China, Russia and India, military strength has continued to evolve alongside technological advancement, economic development and international security challenges.

According to historical military personnel data compiled by the Correlates of War project and presented by Our World in Data, China had the world’s largest military personnel force in 2022, with approximately 2.04 million personnel, followed by India with 1.46 million and the United States with 1.36 million.

North Korea and Russia also ranked among the five largest military forces.

The historical period from 1900 to 2022 covers major global conflicts, including the First World War, Second World War, Cold War and modern international security developments.

Top 20 countries with the largest military personnel in 2022

Rank	Country	Military personnel
1	China 🇨🇳	2,035,000
2	India 🇮🇳	1,460,000
3	United States 🇺🇸	1,360,000
4	North Korea 🇰🇵	1,280,000
5	Russia 🇷🇺	1,190,000
6	Ukraine 🇺🇦	688,000
7	Pakistan 🇵🇰	652,000
8	Iran 🇮🇷	610,000
9	South Korea 🇰🇷	555,000
10	Ethiopia 🇪🇹	503,000
11	Vietnam 🇻🇳	482,000
12	Egypt 🇪🇬	439,000
13	Indonesia 🇮🇩	396,000
14	Brazil 🇧🇷	367,000
15	Thailand 🇹🇭	361,000
16	Myanmar 🇲🇲	356,000
17	Türkiye 🇹🇷	355,000
18	Eritrea 🇪🇷	302,000
19	Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦	257,000
20	Colombia 🇨🇴	256,000

These figures measure military personnel, not overall military power. Weapons, technology, training, logistics, air power and naval capability are separate measures.

Global military rankings: Countries ranked 21–80

Rank	Country	Personnel
21	Sri Lanka 🇱🇰	255,000
22	Japan 🇯🇵	247,000
23	Mexico 🇲🇽	216,000
24	France 🇫🇷	203,000
25	Morocco 🇲🇦	196,000
26	Iraq 🇮🇶	193,000
27	Germany 🇩🇪	183,000
28	Israel 🇮🇱	170,000
29	Syria 🇸🇾	169,000
30	Taiwan 🇹🇼	169,000
31	Bangladesh 🇧🇩	163,000
32	Italy 🇮🇹	161,000
33	United Kingdom 🇬🇧	150,000
34	Philippines 🇵🇭	145,000
35	Nigeria 🇳🇬	143,000
36	Algeria 🇩🇿	139,000
37	Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩	134,000
38	Greece 🇬🇷	132,000
39	Cambodia 🇰🇭	124,000
40	Spain 🇪🇸	124,000
41	Venezuela 🇻🇪	123,000
42	Poland 🇵🇱	114,000
43	Malaysia 🇲🇾	113,000
44	Angola 🇦🇴	107,000
45	Sudan 🇸🇩	104,000
46	Jordan 🇯🇴	101,000
47	Afghanistan 🇦🇫	100,000
48	Nepal 🇳🇵	97,000
49	United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪	83,000
50	Peru 🇵🇪	81,000
51	South Africa 🇿🇦	74,000
52	Argentina 🇦🇷	72,000
53	Romania 🇷🇴	72,000
54	Chile 🇨🇱	69,000
55	Canada 🇨🇦	67,000
56	Azerbaijan 🇦🇿	64,000
57	Australia 🇦🇺	60,000
58	Lebanon 🇱🇧	60,000
59	Dominican Republic 🇩🇴	56,000
60	South Sudan 🇸🇸	53,000
61	Singapore 🇸🇬	51,000
62	Cuba 🇨🇺	49,000
63	Belarus 🇧🇾	48,000
64	Uzbekistan 🇺🇿	48,000
65	Uganda 🇺🇬	45,000
66	Armenia 🇦🇲	43,000
67	Oman 🇴🇲	43,000
68	Ecuador 🇪🇨	41,000
69	Yemen 🇾🇪	40,000
70	Kazakhstan 🇰🇿	39,000
71	Bulgaria 🇧🇬	37,000
72	Turkmenistan 🇹🇲	37,000
73	Tunisia 🇹🇳	36,000
74	Bolivia 🇧🇴	34,000
75	Netherlands 🇳🇱	34,000
76	Chad 🇹🇩	33,000
77	Niger 🇳🇪	33,000
78	Rwanda 🇷🇼	33,000
79	Hungary 🇭🇺	32,000
80	Burundi 🇧🇮	30,000

Global military rankings: Countries ranked 81–120

Rank	Country	Personnel
81	Laos 🇱🇦	29,000
82	Zimbabwe 🇿🇼	29,000
83	Serbia 🇷🇸	28,000
84	Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮	27,000
85	Czech Republic 🇨🇿	27,000
86	Portugal 🇵🇹	27,000
87	Tanzania 🇹🇿	27,000
88	Cameroon 🇨🇲	25,000
89	El Salvador 🇸🇻	25,000
90	Norway 🇳🇴	25,000
91	Kenya 🇰🇪	24,000
92	Austria 🇦🇹	23,000
93	Belgium 🇧🇪	23,000
94	Lithuania 🇱🇹	23,000
95	Georgia 🇬🇪	21,000
96	Mali 🇲🇱	21,000
97	Uruguay 🇺🇾	21,000
98	Switzerland 🇨🇭	20,000
99	Finland 🇫🇮	19,000
100	Guatemala 🇬🇹	18,000
101	Kuwait 🇰🇼	18,000
102	Slovakia 🇸🇰	18,000
103	Croatia 🇭🇷	17,000
104	Qatar 🇶🇦	17,000
105	Ghana 🇬🇭	16,000
106	Mauritania 🇲🇷	16,000
107	Denmark 🇩🇰	15,000
108	Honduras 🇭🇳	15,000
109	Sweden 🇸🇪	15,000
110	Zambia 🇿🇲	15,000
111	Madagascar 🇲🇬	14,000
112	Paraguay 🇵🇾	14,000
113	Senegal 🇸🇳	14,000
114	Somalia 🇸🇴	14,000
115	Togo 🇹🇬	13,000
116	Benin 🇧🇯	12,000
117	Cyprus 🇨🇾	12,000
118	Nicaragua 🇳🇮	12,000
119	Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦	11,000
120	Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬	11,000

Global military rankings: Countries ranked 121–159

Rank	Country	Personnel
121	Malawi 🇲🇼	11,000
122	Mozambique 🇲🇿	11,000
123	Republic of the Congo 🇨🇬	10,000
124	Guinea 🇬🇳	10,000
125	Mongolia 🇲🇳	10,000
126	Namibia 🇳🇦	10,000
127	Botswana 🇧🇼	9,000
128	Central African Republic 🇨🇫	9,000
129	New Zealand 🇳🇿	9,000
130	Sierra Leone 🇸🇱	9,000
131	Tajikistan 🇹🇯	9,000
132	Albania 🇦🇱	8,000
133	Bahrain 🇧🇭	8,000
134	Djibouti 🇩🇯	8,000
135	Ireland 🇮🇪	8,000
136	North Macedonia 🇲🇰	8,000
137	Brunei 🇧🇳	7,000
138	Burkina Faso 🇧🇫	7,000
139	Estonia 🇪🇪	7,000
140	Latvia 🇱🇻	7,000
141	Jamaica 🇯🇲	6,000
142	Slovenia 🇸🇮	6,000
143	Gabon 🇬🇦	5,000
144	Moldova 🇲🇩	5,000
145	Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹	5,000
146	Fiji 🇫🇯	4,000
147	Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼	4,000
148	Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬	4,000
149	The Gambia 🇬🇲	4,000
150	Guyana 🇬🇾	3,000
151	Belize 🇧🇿	2,000
152	Lesotho 🇱🇸	2,000
153	Liberia 🇱🇷	2,000
154	Malta 🇲🇹	2,000
155	Montenegro 🇲🇪	2,000
156	Suriname 🇸🇷	2,000
157	Bahamas 🇧🇸	2,000
158	Timor-Leste 🇹🇱	2,000
159	Barbados 🇧🇧	1,000

Display position	Country	Personnel
160	Cabo Verde 🇨🇻	1,000
161	Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶	1,000
162	Haiti 🇭🇹	1,000
163	Tonga 🇹🇴	1,000

Countries with zero or unavailable military personnel in the dataset

The following countries and territories were listed with zero personnel in this particular historical dataset:

Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Costa Rica
Dominica
Grenada
Iceland
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Federated States of Micronesia
Monaco
Nauru
Palau
Panama
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Seychelles
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

The following had unavailable figures in the displayed dataset: Bhutan, Comoros, Libya, São Tomé and Príncipe and Eswatini.

Important: A zero in this historical dataset does not necessarily mean that a country has no security forces, police, coast guard or defence arrangements. Some countries do not maintain conventional standing armies.

Nigeria’s military position in Africa

Nigeria ranked 35th globally in 2022, with approximately 143,000 military personnel.

This placed Nigeria among Africa’s notable military manpower contributors, alongside Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, South Africa, Morocco and Algeria.

Other African countries in the rankings included:

Ethiopia – 503,000
Egypt – 439,000
Eritrea – 302,000
Morocco – 196,000
Nigeria – 143,000
Algeria – 139,000
Democratic Republic of the Congo – 134,000
Angola – 107,000
Sudan – 104,000
South Africa – 74,000
Uganda – 45,000
Rwanda – 33,000
Niger – 33,000
Ghana – 16,000
Senegal – 14,000
Kenya – 24,000

How military power changed between 1900 and 2022

The twentieth century witnessed enormous changes in military manpower.

1900–1914: The pre-First World War era

European powers maintained large military establishments as competition over territory, colonial interests and international influence intensified.

1914–1918: First World War

The First World War mobilised millions of soldiers across Europe, Africa, Asia and other parts of the world.

1939–1945: Second World War

The Second World War became one of the largest military mobilisation periods in human history, involving major powers including Germany, the Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, Britain and China.

1945–1991: The Cold War

The United States and Soviet Union emerged as the two principal military superpowers. Their competition involved nuclear weapons, military alliances, military technology and large armed forces.

1991–2022: The modern military era

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the global military balance continued to evolve. China expanded its military capabilities, India strengthened its armed forces, and Russia maintained a major military presence.

The war in Ukraine also significantly affected military mobilisation and personnel figures.

Does having the largest army mean having the strongest military?

Not necessarily.

Military strength is determined by several factors, including:

Number of active military personnel.
Modern fighter aircraft and air defence systems.
Naval power and aircraft carriers.
Nuclear weapons capability.
Advanced missiles and military technology.
Intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
Military training and combat experience.
Defence budgets and logistics.

A country with fewer soldiers may possess more advanced military technology and greater operational capabilities than a country with a larger army.

Conclusion

The 2022 military personnel rankings demonstrate the changing distribution of military manpower around the world.

China, India, the United States, North Korea and Russia occupied the top five positions, while Nigeria ranked among the 40 largest military forces globally.

For African countries, military strength must go beyond troop numbers. Investment in modern equipment, intelligence, training, technology and regional security cooperation remains essential to protecting national sovereignty and maintaining peace.

OBASANJONEWS24 will continue to report on global defence developments, international security and the changing balance of military power.

Sources and editorial information

Data methodology: The principal ranking uses the Correlates of War National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 dataset. It measures military personnel under national government command and held ready for combat as of 1 January of the reporting year. It is not a ranking of total military capability.