The US Department of Defense controls over 4,790 military sites around the globe. According to USAFacts, 228,390 US military personnel (including 168,571 active duty troops) are stationed abroad. Some of these are countries the US has long been allied with, while other countries are places the US has been in conflict with in the past. (Also see all the countries the US has invaded.)
To determine the 15 countries where America has the most soldiers, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed unclassified military personnel data from the Department of Defense Personnel, Workforce Reports & Publications, using data from Sept. 30, 2022 — the most recent fully updated report. The number of military sites came from the Base Structure Report FY22 published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment with a snapshot as of Sept. 30, 2021.
Why Is This Important?
A third of the 15 countries where America has the most active-duty personnel are in EU member states, not including one in the UK. Four of the 15 are located in the Middle East, including Turkey, and three are in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia. The other two countries with the most active-duty troops are located in Djibouti and Cuba. Not included on the list, the US also maintains bases in its Pacific territories, such as Guam.
These are the countries where the US stations most of its military personnel abroad.
15. Qatar
- Number of active-duty US troops: 397
- Number of US military sites: 2 – #27 most
14. Netherlands
- Number of active-duty US troops: 434
- Number of US military sites: 6 – #19 most
13. Djibouti
- Number of active-duty US troops: 509
- Number of US military sites: 1 – #30 most
12. Cuba
- Number of active-duty US troops: 596
- Number of US military sites: 1 – #30 most
11. Kuwait
- Number of active-duty US troops: 714
- Number of US military sites: 7 – #17 most
10. Belgium
- Number of active-duty US troops: 1,143
- Number of US military sites: 11 – #12 most
9. Australia
- Number of active-duty US troops: 1,580
- Number of US military sites: 9 – #15 most
8. Turkey
- Number of active-duty US troops: 1,735
- Number of US military sites: 12 – #10 most
7. Spain
- Number of active-duty US troops: 3,164
- Number of US military sites: 4 – #22 most
6. Bahrain
- Number of active-duty US troops: 3,698
- Number of US military sites: 12 – #10 most
5. United Kingdom
- Number of active-duty US troops: 9,840
- Number of US military sites: 23 – #7 most
4. Italy
- Number of active-duty US troops: 12,432
- Number of US military sites: 49 – #6 most
3. South Korea
- Number of active-duty US troops: 25,372
- Number of US military sites: 79 – #4 most
2. Germany
- Number of active-duty US troops: 35,781
- Number of US military sites: 123 – #1 most
1. Japan
- Number of active-duty US troops: 53,973
- Number of US military sites: 113 – #2 most
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