This Country’s Army Has the Most Guns per Soldier

Along with other weapons, guns are perhaps the number one tools used by armed forces around the globe.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed military-owned firearms data from Small Arms Survey, an international firearms-monitoring organization to identify the militaries that possess the largest number of guns per soldier. 

Where is the United States on this list? Follow along to find out.

Why This Matters

With each country’s commitment to its national defense, the global arms sector is a massive industry. Billions of dollars go into defense contracts with industry giants such as Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp,  AVIC, BAE Systems, and China South. We’re covering the military with the largest arsenal of guns per soldier to help you understand the wide-ranging impact the arms industry has on the global economy.

Here is the military with the most guns per military personnel:

30. Kazakhstan

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.3 per military personnel (375,690 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 71,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $1.7 billion (1.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 19,002,586
• Region: Central Asia

29. Estonia

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.5 per military personnel (38,760 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 7,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $701.0 million (2.3% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,329,254
• Region: Northern Europe

28. North Korea

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.7 per military personnel (8,363,100 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 1,469,000 (8.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 25,887,045
• Region: Eastern Asia

27. Israel

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.7 per military personnel (1,016,900 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 178,000 (4.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $21.7 billion (5.6% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 9,364,000
• Region: Western Asia

26. Ecuador

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.0 per military personnel (253,668 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 42,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.2 billion (2.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 17,888,474
• Region: South America

25. Cyprus

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.2 per military personnel (99,000 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 16,000 (2.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $418.8 million (1.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,215,588
• Region: Western Asia

24. Czech Republic

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.3 per military personnel (157,233 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 25,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $3.3 billion (1.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,703,446
• Region: Eastern Europe

23. Portugal

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.4 per military personnel (333,640 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 52,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $4.6 billion (2.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,299,423
• Region: Southern Europe

22. Azerbaijan

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.6 per military personnel (537,920 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 82,000 (1.6% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.2 billion (5.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,145,212
• Region: Western Asia

21. Argentina

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.6 per military personnel (679,770 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 103,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.9 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 45,808,747
• Region: South America

20. Tanzania

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.8 per military personnel (190,050 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 28,000 (0.1% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $659.3 million (1.0% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 61,498,438
• Region: Eastern Africa

19. Kyrgyzstan

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.9 per military personnel (145,010 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 21,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $127.5 million (1.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,694,200
• Region: Central Asia

18. Vietnam

• Est. military-owned firearms: 7.3 per military personnel (3,829,200 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 522,000 (0.9% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 98,168,829
• Region: South-eastern Asia

17. Paraguay

• Est. military-owned firearms: 8.1 per military personnel (235,780 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 29,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $364.3 million (1.0% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 7,219,641
• Region: South America

16. Denmark

• Est. military-owned firearms: 8.3 per military personnel (124,120 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 15,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.0 billion (1.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,856,733
• Region: Northern Europe

15. Sweden

• Est. military-owned firearms: 9.3 per military personnel (139,180 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 15,000 (0.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $6.5 billion (1.2% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,415,811
• Region: Northern Europe

14. Singapore

• Est. military-owned firearms: 9.7 per military personnel (574,140 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 59,000 (1.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $10.9 billion (3.2% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,453,566
• Region: South-eastern Asia

13. Armenia

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.4 per military personnel (509,240 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 49,000 (3.9% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $634.0 million (4.9% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,968,128
• Region: Western Asia

12. China

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.8 per military personnel (27,466,400 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 2,535,000 (0.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $252.3 billion (1.7% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,412,360,000
• Region: Eastern Asia

11. Austria

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.9 per military personnel (240,880 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 22,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $3.6 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 8,956,279
• Region: Western Europe

10. Nicaragua

• Est. military-owned firearms: 11.4 per military personnel (136,800 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 12,000 (0.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $78.0 million (0.7% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,702,379
• Region: Central America

9. Serbia

• Est. military-owned firearms: 12.0 per military personnel (384,422 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 32,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $1.1 billion (2.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,844,078
• Region: Southern Europe

8. Cuba

• Est. military-owned firearms: 12.6 per military personnel (958,100 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 76,000 (1.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 11,317,498
• Region: Caribbean

7. Switzerland

• Est. military-owned firearms: 16.2 per military personnel (324,484 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 20,000 (0.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.7 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 8,697,723
• Region: Western Europe

6. Moldova

• Est. military-owned firearms: 16.4 per military personnel (98,600 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 6,000 (0.6% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $44.5 million (0.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,573,928
• Region: Eastern Europe

5. Finland

• Est. military-owned firearms: 17.6 per military personnel (475,030 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 27,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $4.1 billion (1.5% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,541,696
• Region: Northern Europe

4. Mongolia

• Est. military-owned firearms: 18.0 per military personnel (323,400 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 18,000 (1.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $112.2 million (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 3,329,282
• Region: Eastern Asia

3. Slovenia

• Est. military-owned firearms: 18.8 per military personnel (131,686 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 7,000 (0.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $574.8 million (1.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,107,007
• Region: Southern Europe

2. Russian Federation

• Est. military-owned firearms: 20.8 per military personnel (30,272,900 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 1,454,000 (2.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $61.7 billion (4.3% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 143,446,060
• Region: Eastern Europe

1. Ukraine

• Est. military-owned firearms: 21.2 per military personnel (6,600,000 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 311,000 (1.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.9 billion (4.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 43,814,581
• Region: Eastern Europe