The Hungarian Defense Forces recently held Harci Szellem 2024 (“Battle Spirit 2024”), an artillery live-firing exercise. During the exercise, the Hungarian Defense Forces evaluated how Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) self-propelled howitzers worked with the Gidrán combat vehicles. The two often go hand-in-hand, which makes sense given that live-firing exercises are important for testing the real-world coordination between different systems. Making sure coordination and equipment are functioning properly is key for safety (and success) in combat scenarios. These exercises also highlight that even the most advanced equipment is only as effective as the troops operating said equipment.
While many countries are working on modernizing their weaponry, having a well-trained standing army is equally important. The nature of war in today’s world, given the broad spectrum of conflicts happening, requires military personnel to be prepared for nearly any situation. To ensure that they are well protected, and can defend themselves if need be, many countries across Europe have sizable and incredibly capable armed forces. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the European countries with the largest standing armies. To identify the European countries with the most active military personnel, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of active military personnel. We included supplemental information regarding total personnel, reserves, total population, fit-for-service, and overall military strength score. Note that we excluded Russia from this list. (Here are the top European helicopter powers, ranked.)
Why This is Important
Understanding the military dynamics in Europe is important considering the continent’s deeply rooted geopolitical challenges. Historically, Europe has been marked by wars, shifting alliances, and territorial disputes. Yet it still remains a key player on the global stage. At the same time, alliances like the EU or NATO are some of the most powerful in terms of their influence on the world. Whether it is a question of NATO’s expansion or Russia’s campaign in Eastern Europe, these military forces tilt the region’s balance of power.
Take a look at the largest standing armies in Europe:
38. Iceland
- Active personnel: 0
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 0
- Total population: 360,872
- Fit-for-service: 49,800
- Military strength score and world rank: 3.5038 – #136 out of 145
Iceland has no real military to speak of, and instead relies heavily on Article 5 of NATO for its security needs. Article 5 refers to the collective defense clause that states any attack against a single NATO nation will be considered an attack against all NATO members, prompting other members to come to the aid of the nation that was attacked. So, in a sense, Iceland doesn’t need a military for that reason, but it does host NATO assets.
37. Luxembourg
- Active personnel: 1,000
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 1,000
- Total population: 660,924
- Fit-for-service: 91,208
- Aircraft: 1
- Military vehicles: 180
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1458 – #109 out of 145
36. Montenegro
- Active personnel: 2,350
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 5,500
- Total military personnel: 7,850
- Total population: 602,445
- Fit-for-service: 85,547
- Aircraft: 11
- Military vehicles: 662 (including 12 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 13
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.9109 – #129 out of 145
35. Albania
- Active personnel: 6,600
- Reserves: 2,000
- Paramilitary forces: 500
- Total military personnel: 9,100
- Total population: 3,101,621
- Fit-for-service: 1,290,274
- Aircraft: 19
- Military vehicles: 976 (including 40 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 19
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.8188 – #90 out of 145
34. Slovenia
- Active personnel: 7,300
- Reserves: 26,000
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total military personnel: 38,300
- Total population: 2,099,790
- Fit-for-service: 827,317
- Aircraft: 38
- Military vehicles: 1,502 (including 55 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 2
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
33. Estonia
- Active personnel: 7,700
- Reserves: 78,800
- Paramilitary forces: 10,000
- Total military personnel: 96,500
- Total population: 1,202,762
- Fit-for-service: 459,455
- Aircraft: 7
- Military vehicles: 1,409 (including 6 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 10
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.7237 – #87 out of 145
32. Ireland
- Active personnel: 7,765
- Reserves: 1,700
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 9,465
- Total population: 5,323,991
- Fit-for-service: 2,033,765
- Aircraft: 25
- Military vehicles: 1,064
- Ships/Submarines: 6
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.8779 – #94 out of 145
31. Moldova
- Active personnel: 8,500
- Reserves: 67,000
- Paramilitary forces: 2,000
- Total military personnel: 77,500
- Total population: 3,250,532
- Fit-for-service: 1,618,765
- Aircraft: 3
- Military vehicles: 450
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 4.2311 – #144 out of 145
30. North Macedonia
- Active personnel: 9,000
- Reserves: 60,000
- Paramilitary forces: 3,500
- Total military personnel: 72,500
- Total population: 2,133,410
- Fit-for-service: 782,961
- Aircraft: 20
- Military vehicles: 2,156 (including 23 tanks and 24 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1717 – #110 out of 145
29. Kosovo
- Active personnel: 10,000
- Reserves: 5,000
- Paramilitary forces: 500
- Total military personnel: 15,500
- Total population: 1,965,327
- Fit-for-service: 738,963
- Aircraft: N/A
- Military vehicles: 922
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 3.4115 – #135 out of 145
28. Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Active personnel: 12,770
- Reserves: 6,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 18,770
- Total population: 3,807,764
- Fit-for-service: 1,960,998
- Aircraft: 24
- Military vehicles: 450 (including 91 tanks and 79 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.3996 – #116 out of 145
27. Croatia
- Active personnel: 14,325
- Reserves: 20,100
- Paramilitary forces: 2,000
- Total military personnel: 36,425
- Total population: 4,169,239
- Fit-for-service: 1,571,803
- Aircraft: 81
- Military vehicles: 3,076 (including 75 tanks and 105 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 32
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.1333 – #66 out of 145
26. Austria
- Active personnel: 16,000
- Reserves: 125,600
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 141,600
- Total population: 8,940,860
- Fit-for-service: 3,621,048
- Aircraft: 104
- Military vehicles: 848 (including 58 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2351 – #71 out of 145
25. Latvia
- Active personnel: 17,250
- Reserves: 36,000
- Paramilitary forces: 12,500
- Total military personnel: 65,750
- Total population: 1,821,750
- Fit-for-service: 655,830
- Aircraft: 7
- Military vehicles: 1,544
- Ships/Submarines: 18
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
24. Slovakia
- Active personnel: 19,500
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 19,500
- Total population: 5,425,319
- Fit-for-service: 2,294,910
- Aircraft: 37
- Military vehicles: 2,048 (including 36 tanks and 25 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
23. Denmark
- Active personnel: 20,000
- Reserves: 12,000
- Paramilitary forces: 51,000
- Total military personnel: 83,000
- Total population: 5,946,984
- Fit-for-service: 2,117,126
- Aircraft: 119
- Military vehicles: 4,056 (including 44 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 91
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7743 – #48 out of 145
22. Lithuania
- Active personnel: 23,000
- Reserves: 104,000
- Paramilitary forces: 14,150
- Total military personnel: 141,150
- Total population: 2,655,755
- Fit-for-service: 1,346,468
- Aircraft: 9
- Military vehicles: 1,356
- Ships/Submarines: 11
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
21. Norway
- Active personnel: 23,250
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 40,000
- Total military personnel: 63,250
- Total population: 5,597,924
- Fit-for-service: 1,836,119
- Aircraft: 102
- Military vehicles: 7,048 (including 36 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 25
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
20. Portugal
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Reserves: 211,700
- Paramilitary forces: 24,700
- Total military personnel: 260,400
- Total population: 10,467,366
- Fit-for-service: 4,029,936
- Aircraft: 117
- Military vehicles: 11,173 (including 34 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 113
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
19. Finland
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Reserves: 870,000
- Paramilitary forces: 53,800
- Total military personnel: 947,800
- Total population: 5,614,571
- Fit-for-service: 1,908,954
- Aircraft: 164
- Military vehicles: 11,716 (including 200 tanks and 76 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 246
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
18. Sweden
- Active personnel: 24,400
- Reserves: 32,900
- Paramilitary forces: 25,000
- Total military personnel: 82,300
- Total population: 10,536,338
- Fit-for-service: 3,540,210
- Aircraft: 212
- Military vehicles: 7,958 (including 120 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 353
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145
17. Serbia
- Active personnel: 25,000
- Reserves: 2,000
- Paramilitary forces: 600,000
- Total military personnel: 627,000
- Total population: 6,693,375
- Fit-for-service: 2,590,336
- Aircraft: 112
- Military vehicles: 3,954 (including 262 tanks and 82 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.9038 – #56 out of 145
16. Belgium
- Active personnel: 25,000
- Reserves: 6,400
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 31,400
- Total population: 11,913,633
- Fit-for-service: 3,860,017
- Aircraft: 110
- Military vehicles: 4,606
- Ships/Submarines: 9
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2064 – #70 out of 145
15. Czechia
- Active personnel: 28,000
- Reserves: 4,200
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 32,200
- Total population: 10,706,242
- Fit-for-service: 4,079,078
- Aircraft: 88
- Military vehicles: 6,757 (including 65 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
14. Bulgaria
- Active personnel: 37,000
- Reserves: 3,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 40,000
- Total population: 6,827,736
- Fit-for-service: 2,628,678
- Aircraft: 65
- Military vehicles: 7,420 (including 215 tanks and 24 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 40
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
13. Netherlands
- Active personnel: 41,380
- Reserves: 6,765
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total military personnel: 53,145
- Total population: 17,463,930
- Fit-for-service: 6,374,334
- Aircraft: 143
- Military vehicles: 3,176 (including 18 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 112
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
12. Hungary
- Active personnel: 41,600
- Reserves: 20,000
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total military personnel: 76,600
- Total population: 9,670,009
- Fit-for-service: 3,722,953
- Aircraft: 62
- Military vehicles: 7,797 (including 208 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
11. Belarus
- Active personnel: 63,000
- Reserves: 145,000
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total military personnel: 263,000
- Total population: 9,383,853
- Fit-for-service: 3,678,470
- Aircraft: 183
- Military vehicles: 6,700 (including 517 tanks and 206 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0901 – #64 out of 145
10. Romania
- Active personnel: 81,300
- Reserves: 55,000
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total military personnel: 151,300
- Total population: 18,326,327
- Fit-for-service: 7,807,015
- Aircraft: 131
- Military vehicles: 9,990 (including 345 tanks and 225 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 20
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
9. Switzerland
- Active personnel: 101,584
- Reserves: 49,715
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total military personnel: 156,299
- Total population: 8,563,760
- Fit-for-service: 3,057,262
- Aircraft: 147
- Military vehicles: 4,304 (including 134 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: N/A
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6097 – #43 out of 145
8. Spain
- Active personnel: 133,282
- Reserves: 15,150
- Paramilitary forces: 78,470
- Total military personnel: 226,902
- Total population: 47,222,613
- Fit-for-service: 17,614,035
- Aircraft: 513
- Military vehicles: 15,046 (including 327 tanks)
- Ships/Submarines: 168
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
7. Greece
- Active personnel: 142,700
- Reserves: 221,350
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total military personnel: 419,050
- Total population: 10,497,595
- Fit-for-service: 3,999,584
- Aircraft: 632
- Military vehicles: 57,030 (including 1,365 tanks and 152 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 187
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
6. Italy
- Active personnel: 165,500
- Reserves: 18,500
- Paramilitary forces: 105,000
- Total military personnel: 289,000
- Total population: 61,021,855
- Fit-for-service: 22,211,955
- Aircraft: 800
- Military vehicles: 61,892 (including 200 tanks and 21 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 309
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
5. Germany
- Active personnel: 181,600
- Reserves: 34,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 215,600
- Total population: 84,220,184
- Fit-for-service: 30,993,028
- Aircraft: 618
- Military vehicles: 79,317 (including 295 tanks and 33 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 64
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
4. United Kingdom
- Active personnel: 184,860
- Reserves: 924,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total military personnel: 1,108,860
- Total population: 68,138,484
- Fit-for-service: 25,074,962
- Aircraft: 664
- Military vehicles: 27,203 (including 213 tanks and 41 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 117
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
3. France
- Active personnel: 200,000
- Reserves: 26,000
- Paramilitary forces: 150,000
- Total military personnel: 376,000
- Total population: 68,521,974
- Fit-for-service: 23,845,647
- Aircraft: 972
- Military vehicles: 85,023 (including 222 tanks and 9 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 128
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
2. Poland
- Active personnel: 202,100
- Reserves: 350,000
- Paramilitary forces: 50,000
- Total military personnel: 602,100
- Total population: 37,991,766
- Fit-for-service: 15,272,690
- Aircraft: 468
- Military vehicles: 13,956 (including 612 tanks and 211 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 45
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
1. Ukraine
- Active personnel: 900,000
- Reserves: 1,200,000
- Paramilitary forces: 100,000
- Total military personnel: 2,200,000
- Total population: 43,306,477
- Fit-for-service: 15,460,412
- Aircraft: 321
- Military vehicles: 22,100 (including 1,777 tanks and 491 MLRS units)
- Ships/Submarines: 104
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2598 – #18 out of 145
Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)
Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.