Most countries in the world have two categories of military personnel: active service members and reservists. Reservists are civilians who have careers outside of military service but receive regular training so that they can be activated during times of conflict. For example, the U.S. tapped hundreds of thousands of reservists during its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The number of reserve troops often outnumber active military service members, in some cases by a very large margin. (These are the countries where the most people serve in the military.)
To determine the countries with the largest military reserves, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2023 data from GlobalFirepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked countries by the size of their reserve forces and included the number of active-duty and paramilitary forces for each country. From Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Military Expenditure Database, we included total military spending by country in 2021 and military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. 2021 population figures come from the World Bank.
Finland, has 900,000 reservists, one of the largest reserve forces in the world, but only about 24,000 active-duty troops. A major reason for this is the country’s sometimes-precarious relationship with its much more powerful neighbor, Russia. The two countries share an 830-mile border. Russia itself began drafting hundreds of thousands of reservists last year to bolster its forces fighting in Ukraine. (Here are 29 countries currently at war.)
Four countries in the world are known to have reserve forces greater than 1 million, led by Vietnam’s estimated 2.5 million reservists, followed by Taiwan, Brazil, and India. The 25 largest reserve forces have a combined 14.9 million regularly-trained soldiers compared to 11.8 million active service members.
It is not surprising to find countries with large populations on this list. However, the number of reservists does not necessarily depend on the size of the population. Countries with rather small populations, like Israel and Finland, which is home to 9.3 million and 5.5 million residents, respectively, have more reserve personnel than much larger countries, the U.S.
Besides active troops and reservists, many countries also have a third broad category of military personnel: paramilitary organizations, state-sanctioned forces that have sometimes acted outside the rules of engagement.
Most countries in the world have two categories of military personnel: active service members and reservists. Reservists are civilians who have careers outside of military service but receive regular training so that they can be activated during times of conflict. For example, the U.S. tapped hundreds of thousands of reservists during its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The number of reserve troops often outnumber active military service members, in some cases by a very large margin. (These are the countries where the most people serve in the military.)
To determine the countries with the largest military reserves, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2023 data from GlobalFirepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked countries by the size of their reserve forces and included the number of active-duty and paramilitary forces for each country. From Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Military Expenditure Database, we included total military spending by country in 2021 and military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. 2021 population figures come from the World Bank.
Finland, has 900,000 reservists, one of the largest reserve forces in the world, but only about 24,000 active-duty troops. A major reason for this is the country’s sometimes-precarious relationship with its much more powerful neighbor, Russia. The two countries share an 830-mile border. Russia itself began drafting hundreds of thousands of reservists last year to bolster its forces fighting in Ukraine. (Here are 29 countries currently at war.)
Four countries in the world are known to have reserve forces greater than 1 million, led by Vietnam’s estimated 2.5 million reservists, followed by Taiwan, Brazil, and India. The 25 largest reserve forces have a combined 14.9 million regularly-trained soldiers compared to 11.8 million active service members.
It is not surprising to find countries with large populations on this list. However, the number of reservists does not necessarily depend on the size of the population. Countries with rather small populations, like Israel and Finland, which is home to 9.3 million and 5.5 million residents, respectively, have more reserve personnel than much larger countries, the U.S.
Besides active troops and reservists, many countries also have a third broad category of military personnel: paramilitary organizations, state-sanctioned forces that have sometimes acted outside the rules of engagement.
Here are the countries with the largest military reserves.
25. Eritrea
> Military reserves: 200,000
> Active service: 175,000 – #27 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: N/A
> Population (2021): 3,620,312 – #131 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/A
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24. Armenia
> Military reserves: 210,000
> Active service: 45,000 – #71 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 4,300 – #96 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 2,790,974 – #139 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $619.4 billion – #83 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.044% – #9 out of 145
23. Portugal
> Military reserves: 211,700
> Active service: 27,000 – #84 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 24,700 – #48 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 10,325,147 – #89 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $4,908.9 billion – #44 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.021% – #44 out of 145
22. Greece
> Military reserves: 220,500
> Active service: 130,000 – #37 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 35,000 – #39 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 10,641,221 – #86 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $8,079.9 billion – #31 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.039% – #12 out of 145
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21. Estonia
> Military reserves: 230,000
> Active service: 4,000 – #137 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 16,000 – #52 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 1,330,932 – #155 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $764.0 billion – #76 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.022% – #41 out of 145
20. Singapore
> Military reserves: 240,000
> Active service: 60,000 – #65 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 10,000 – #75 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 5,453,566 – #117 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $11,115.3 billion – #24 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.030% – #21 out of 145
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19. Ukraine
> Military reserves: 250,000
> Active service: 200,000 – #23 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 50,000 – #36 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 43,792,855 – #35 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $5,942.8 billion – #36 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.032% – #19 out of 145
18. Russia
> Military reserves: 250,000
> Active service: 830,900 – #5 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 250,000 – #11 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 143,449,300 – #9 out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $65,907.7 billion – #5 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.041% – #11 out of 145
17. Belarus
> Military reserves: 290,000
> Active service: 45,000 – #70 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 110,000 – #20 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 9,340,314 – #97 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $762.8 billion – #77 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.012% – #101 out of 145
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16. Azerbaijan
> Military reserves: 300,000
> Active service: 65,000 – #59 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 15,000 – #53 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 10,137,750 – #91 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $2,703.2 billion – #55 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.053% – #5 out of 145
15. Iran
> Military reserves: 350,000
> Active service: 575,000 – #7 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 90,000 – #25 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 87,923,432 – #17 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $24,589.1 billion – #14 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.023% – #36 out of 145
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14. Indonesia
> Military reserves: 400,000
> Active service: 400,000 – #12 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 280,000 – #10 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 273,753,191 – #4 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $8,259.3 billion – #29 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.007% – #125 out of 145
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13. United States
> Military reserves: 442,000
> Active service: 1,390,000 – #3 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: N/A
> Population (2021): 331,893,745 – #3 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $800,672.2 billion – #1 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.035% – #15 out of 145
12. Israel
> Military reserves: 465,000
> Active service: 173,000 – #29 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 8,000 – #80 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 9,364,000 – #96 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $24,341.0 billion – #15 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.052% – #6 out of 145
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11. Egypt
> Military reserves: 480,000
> Active service: 440,000 – #10 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 300,000 – #9 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 109,262,178 – #14 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $5,165.4 billion – #43 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.013% – #93 out of 145
10. South Korea
> Military reserves: 500,000
> Active service: 555,000 – #8 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 75,000 – #28 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 51,744,876 – #28 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $50,226.9 billion – #10 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.028% – #28 out of 145
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9. China
> Military reserves: 510,000
> Active service: 2,000,000 – #1 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 625,000 – #5 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 1,412,360,000 – #1 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $293,351.9 billion – #2 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.017% – #63 out of 145
8. Pakistan
> Military reserves: 550,000
> Active service: 654,000 – #6 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 500,000 – #6 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 231,402,117 – #5 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $11,304.8 billion – #23 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.038% – #13 out of 145
7. North Korea
> Military reserves: 600,000
> Active service: 1,200,000 – #4 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 200,000 – #13 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 25,971,910 – #54 out of 217
> Military spending (2021): N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/A
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6. Colombia
> Military reserves: 845,000
> Active service: 360,000 – #14 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 185,000 – #14 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 51,516,562 – #29 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $10,180.1 billion – #25 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.034% – #16 out of 145
5. Finland
> Military reserves: 900,000
> Active service: 24,000 – #93 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 14,000 – #58 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 5,541,017 – #115 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $5,903.5 billion – #37 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.020% – #46 out of 145
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4. India
> Military reserves: 1,155,000
> Active service: 1,450,000 – #2 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 2,527,000 – #2 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 1,407,563,842 – #2 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $76,598.0 billion – #3 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.027% – #30 out of 145
3. Brazil
> Military reserves: 1,340,000
> Active service: 360,000 – #15 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 400,000 – #7 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 214,326,223 – #6 most out of 217
> Military spending (2021): $19,187.1 billion – #17 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.012% – #100 out of 145
2. Taiwan
> Military reserves: 1,500,000
> Active service: 170,000 – #31 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 11,500 – #63 most out of 145
> Population (2021): N/A
> Military spending (2021): $12,958.5 billion – #21 most out of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 0.017% – #62 out of 145
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1. Vietnam
> Military reserves: 2,500,000
> Active service: 470,000 – #9 most out of 145
> Paramilitary forces: 40,000 – #38 most out of 145
> Population (2021): 97,468,030 – #15 out of 217
> Military spending (2021): N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/A
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